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Rankings

Greater Des Moines (DSM) is experiencing a wave of momentum. National publications are recognizing that momentum in the form of top rankings.

Most Recent DSM USA Rankings

#3 Most Livable Metro - RentCafe, 2024 & Des Moines Register 
#10 Best Place for Business and Careers - Forbes, 2024
#8 Best City for Financial Independence – chooseFi, 2024
#8 Most Affordable U.S. Metro Area – Clever Real Estate, 2024
#4 Most Neighborly City in America – Neighbor.com, 2024
#7 Safest City to Live in the U.S. – U.S. News & World Report, 2024
#10 Best Metro for Millennials – CommercialCafe, 2024
Top 10 Cleanest City in America – Lawnstarter, 2024
Top 20 Best Place to Start a Small Business in a High-Growth Sector – The Credit Review, 2024
#2 Best Place for Young Professionals – Forbes, 2024
#6 Fastest-Growing Hiring Market for New College Graduates – CNBC, 2024
Top 10 Best City for Work/Life Balance and Mental Health — CoworkingCafe, 2024
#4 Best U.S. City for Young Adults — Homebuyer.com, 2024
#8 Top Place to Start a Small Business — LendingTree, 2023
#6 Best Place to Live for Families — U.S. News & World Report, 2023
Top 20 Most Neighborly City in the U.S. — Neighbor, 2023
Top 25 Up-and-Coming Tech Market  — CBRE, 2023 
Top 10 Fastest-Growing Mid-Sized Metro — Site Selection Group, 2023
Top Five Small City for Young Graduates — Pheabs, 2023
Top 12 Best Mid-Size City in the U.S. — Extra Space Storage, 2023
#3 Best Market for Recent College Graduates — Zillow, 2023 
# 1 Best Midsized Metros for Millennials  — CommercialCafe, 2023
#7 Lowest Cost of Living in the U.S. — Apartment List, 2023
Top 10 City for a Minimalist Lifestyle — RentCafe, 2023
#9 Top Metro for Number Economic Development Projects (among metros with a population of 200,000 to 1 million) — Site Selection Magazine, 2023 
#4 Most Arts-Vibrant Mid-Sized Community — SMU DataArts, 2022 
Top 10 Most Neighborly City in America — Neighbor Blog, 2022
Top 10 Best Affordable City for Gen Z Renters — GoBankingRates, 2022 
Top 25 Up-and-Coming Tech Market — CBRE, 2022 
Top 20 Tech City for IT Jobs — CompTIA, 2022 
One of Five Cool Places in America Where You Can Still Buy a Home for Less Than $200,000 — MarketWatch, 2022 
Top 10 Best State Capital to Live In — SmartAsset, 2022 
#7 Most Affordable Housing Market — GoodHire, 2022
#6 Top Metro for Number Economic Development Projects (among metros with a population of 200,000 to 1 million) — Site Selection Magazine, 2022
Top 10 Place Where It’s Easiest to Save for Your First Home — Money, 2022
One of 50 Cities Worth Exploring in 2022 — Travel Pulse, 2022
Best Mid-Size Town in the Midwest — Midwest Living, 2022 
#5 Top Emerging North American Tech Market — CBRE, 2021
#4 Most Sustainable Metro — Site Selection, 2021
#8 Most Resilient Tech Hub — LinkedIn, 2021
#4 Best Place to Raise Kids — SmartAsset, 2021
Named Among Three "Breakout Cities on the Forefront of America's Economic Recovery" — The Wall Street Journal, 2021
Breakout City
#4 Rising Star for Tech Jobs — CompTIA, 2021
#7 Best Midwestern City for Women in STEM — CommercialCafe, 2021
Top 10 City to Live in After the Pandemic — Today, 2021 
#8 Top City Whose Unemployment Rate is Dropping — WalletHub, 2021
#11 Most Affordable City to Buy a Home — Forbes Advisor, 2021
Women in STEM
#8 Best City to Live in After the Pandemic — Business Insider, 2020
Top 10 Housing Markets for Millennials During the Pandemic — National Association of Realtors, 2020
One of the U.S. Cities Best Positioned to Bounce Back from the Pandemic — Moody's Analytics, 2020
#5 Metro for Number of Economic Development Projects among metros with a population of 200,000 to 1 million — Site Selection Magazine, 2020
Top 10 for Business and Careers
#3 Top Midwestern U.S. City for Women in STEM Occupations — CommercialCafe™, 2020
One of "10 Cities That are Ready for the Big Time" — Site Selection Magazine, 2019
One of "10 Cities That are Blooming, Not Rusting" — Manhattan Institute, 2019
Top 10 Best Place for Business and Careers — Forbes, 2019  
Best to Live American Dream
1 of 3 Cities Bucking the Tide of Midwest Talent & Population Loss — Site Selection, 2019
#3 Top Market for Opportunity Employment Share — Site Selection, 2019
#2 Top City for Young Home Buyers — Clever Real Estate, 2019 
#6 Best Places to Work in Tech — SmartAsset, 2019
#7 Best City for Living the American Dream — SmartAsset, 2019 
#3 Metro for Number of Economic Development Projects among metros with a population of 200,000 – 1 million — SiteSelection, 2019