Des Moines County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,325. The county seat is Burlington. It is one of Iowa's two original counties along with Dubuque County; both were organized by the Michigan Territorial legislature in 1834. Des Moines County is part of the Burlington, IA–IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Des Moines County should not be confused with the city of Des Moines, which is the capital of Iowa. Des Moines County sits on Iowa's eastern border alongside the Mississippi River. The city of Des Moines is in Polk County in central Iowa. Both places derive their name from the Des Moines River, which flows through the city of Des Moines and originally flowed through the county. When the county was divided early in Iowa's history, the river ended up further west, forming the border between Lee County, Iowa and the state of Missouri.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. The Mississippi River forms the east border; Skunk River, the south border; and the county is drained by Flint Creek.
Major highways
U.S. Route 34
U.S. Route 61
Airport
The Southeast Iowa Regional Airport, is located on the southern side of Burlington. Commercial service is provided through Air Choice One. This service offers two weekday daily flights to St. Louis and Chicago, while offering single flights on weekends.
The 2010 census recorded a population of 40,325 in the county, with a population density of. There were 18,535 housing units, of which 17,003 were occupied.
As of the 2000 census, there were 42,351 people, 17,270 households, and 11,536 families residing in the county. The population density was 102 people per square mile. There were 18,643 housing units at an average density of 45 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 93.69% White, 3.57% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. 1.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 17,270 households out of which 29.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.70% were married couplesliving together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.20% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.94. In the county, the population was spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,790, and the median income for a family was $45,089. Males had a median income of $34,880 versus $22,530 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,701. About 8.20% of families and 10.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.30% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Des Moines County. †county seat
Rank
City/Town/etc.
Municipal type
Population
1
†Burlington
City
25,663
2
West Burlington
City
2,968
3
Mediapolis
City
1,560
4
Beaverdale
CDP
952
5
Danville
City
934
6
Middletown
City
318
Politics
Prior to 1964, Des Moines County was a primarily Republican county, only backing four Democratic Party presidential candidates from 1896 to 1960. Since 1964, it has only backed two Republican Party candidates for president, Richard Nixon in his statewide & national landslide, & Donald Trump in 2016, who swung the county by a margin of over 25 points from its 2012 result.
