Life Skills and Money Education in Des Moines County, Iowa

With a population of roughly 38,411, Des Moines County, Iowa is among the larger counties in Iowa, ranking 16th of 99 by population. It has lost residents since 2020, slipping 1.1% from 38,856 down to 38,411. The median age is 42.2.

Among adults 25 and older in Des Moines County, 23.8% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That runs 5.7 points above the Iowa average of 18.1%. Flip that figure and it describes 76.2% of the 26,955 adults 25 and over counted in the 2019–2023 ACS, about 20,540 people whose money skills came from somewhere other than a university.

Median household income is $60,662. That is $4,602 below the Iowa median. About 14.1% of residents live below the poverty line. The median home is valued at $137,000, roughly 2.3× median household income.

Des Moines County by the numbers

Measure	Value
Population (2024)	38,411
Change since 2020	-1.1%
Median household income	$60,662
Adults 25+ with a bachelor’s degree	23.8%
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma	94%
Median age	42.2
Poverty rate	14.1%
Unemployment rate	3.2%
Median home value	$137,000
Land area	416.129 sq mi
Population density	92 / sq mi

What Iowa teaches — and to whom

Iowa already requires 1 semester of personal finance for a high school diploma, a rule in force since the graduating class of 2023. That covers students still in the system. It does nothing for the adults already out of it — which, in Des Moines County, is most of the people reading this.

LearnLife organises this the way the decisions actually arrive: Legal literacy — leases, contracts, employment rights and what a signature actually commits you to; Money — budgeting, credit, debt and taxes — the mechanics nobody is formally taught; Emotional regulation — the self-management that decides whether the other skills ever get used.

Where to start in Des Moines County

Start with the money that moves every month

For most households in Des Moines County, the fastest gain is not an investing strategy — it is seeing the recurring outflows clearly, knowing what a credit score actually responds to, and understanding which line items on a payslip are negotiable.

Questions people ask about Des Moines County

Do high school students in Des Moines County, Iowa have to take a personal finance class?

Yes. Iowa requires 1 semester to graduate, in force since the class of 2023.

How many adults in Des Moines County, Iowa have a college degree?

23.8% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher, based on the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey. The remaining 76.2% are managing their finances without one.

What is the median household income in Des Moines County, Iowa?

$60,662, per the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey.

Where can adults in Des Moines County, Iowa learn personal finance?

Graduation requirements only ever reach people still in school. For adults, LearnLife covers the same ground on demand — money, legal literacy and the self-management that decides whether either gets used.

Start with whichever one is costing you money right now.

Browse the LearnLife catalog

Nearby in Iowa

All Iowa locations →

Population and demographic figures: U.S. Census Bureau — 2024 Gazetteer, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates, and the American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates. Graduation-requirement status: NGPF Live U.S. Dashboard, read 2026-09-14. Figures marked as unavailable are suppressed by the Census Bureau for small populations.