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Economic Development in Greater Des Moines

In Greater Des Moines (DSM), businesses find greater opportunities for growth and expansion. DSM is a place where talent is highly educated, motivated and readily available to fill the job needs of the region's growing companies. It's where over 80 insurance companies, multiple manufacturing operations and data centers for companies like Apple, Meta (Facebook) and Microsoft call home.

DSM is a 12-county region in central Iowa that includes Iowa's capital and most populous city, Des Moines, suburbs with expansive momentum and dynamic smaller communities in rural areas. DSM is the fastest growing major metro in the Midwest and is recognized as a place where businesses can grow and thrive. Forbes ranks DSM as a top 10 place for business and careers and Business Facilities Magazine selected DSM as a top 10 mid-sized metro for best business climate.

Grow in Greater Des Moines

Real Estate

Available Sites and Buildings

Discover prime development-ready sites and office spaces and learn more about The Partnership's site selection services.

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Data

Find statistics, demographics and more about the region. Plus, learn how The Partnership can support your research needs and provide insights on Greater Des Moines.

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Economic Climate

Learn more about what makes the Greater Des Moines economic climate prime for opportunities.

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Entrepreneurship

Whether you're looking to start or grow your small business, Greater Des Moines is the place where entrepreneurship happens.

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Doing Business in DSM

The DSM Advantage

See what advantages you gain by doing business in Greater Des Moines and the economic development services available for expanding companies.

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Economic Development Services

The Greater Des Moines Partnership is the region's economic and community development organization. The Partnership serves as a single point of contact for businesses to learn more about Greater Des Moines and serves as a connection to leaders and opportunities in the region.

Key Industries

Insurance and financial services, advanced manufacturing, ag innovation, data centers, technology and logistics lead the way in DSM.

Major Employers

Numerous international companies and headquarters operate in DSM bringing in talent and growing the economy.

Why Greater Des Moines

Greater Des Moines is a globally connected community and one of the nation’s hotspots for growing businesses, startups and Millennials. It has been ranked among the best places to live in the United States, one of the most pro-business cities in America and one of the best cities for young professionals and jobs.

The region is a unique pro-business community, where public-private-nonprofit partnerships create major projects for the greater good of the region.

In Greater Des Moines, we live up to our name. Here, businesses are doing something greater that's visionary, ambitious and meaningful.

Why The Partnership

Working with the Greater Des Moines Partnership gives businesses a single point of contact to learn about the region, including comprehensive demographic and business climate information. The Partnership team can offer expert economic development support in a number of areas, including:

Local and Global Resources
Regional Labor Market Data
Research and Data Analysis
Identifying Available Land and Buildings
Site Visit Logistics
Financing and Incentive Programs
Marketing, Communications and Event Support
Facilitating Connections
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Support

Since 1999, The Partnership has collaborated with more than 759 businesses that have located to or expanded within the 12-county region. Of these businesses, 244 were new to the area. These projects occupy more than 40 million square feet of premier office and industrial space across the region and account for 37,740 new or retained jobs in Iowa.

The Partnership is a repeat winner of the prestigious Mac Conway Award. It is presented by Site Selection magazine and given to the top 20 economic development organizations in the nation. Scores are awarded based on six criteria: total projects, total investment associated with those projects and jobs associated with those projects. The remaining three criteria represent a per capita calculation of those same metrics.

Build Your Greater Here

Learn how your company can achieve growth in Greater Des Moines. Connect with Stacie LoVan, Senior Vice President of Economic Development at the Greater Des Moines Partnership, to learn more about doing business here.

slovan@DSMpartnership.com | (515) 286-4971