2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Des Moines, IA vs Ottumwa, IA

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Highlights
- Household income in Ottumwa, is 18% less than it is in Des Moines and is 43% below the National Average.
- Des Moines unemployment rate is 5.9%.
- Ottumwa unemployment rate is 5.2%.
 Des Moines, IAOttumwa, IAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock5.2%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.5%1.6%
 Future Job Growth37.4%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes6.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock7.4%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$31,276  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$48,198$69,021
 Family Median Income$69,816  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Des Moines, IAOttumwa, IAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock12.1%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K4.7%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock12.2%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K10.2%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock11.9%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K8.2%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock11.0%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K14.3%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock10.2%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K4.9%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock2.6%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Des Moines, IAOttumwa, IAUnited States
 Management, business, finance14.3%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock1.3%6.5%
 Community, social services1.6%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.6%1.2%
 Education, library4.2%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock0.4%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology4.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock4.7%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.5%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock5.6%5.4%
 Building maintenance4.5%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock1.7%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support21.7%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock1.2%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair8.0%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock29.1%13.1%
Reviews for Des Moines    53 Reviews

Des Moines is a ok and pretty quiet place but as a teen it could be dramatic because Des Moines do have is fair or violents places to avoid in Des Moines would be the  More

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Dude · 
Over 5 years ago

This city is violent, there are too many gangs especially on the north  More

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Over 6 years ago

Good for the old that like slow pace and cheap buffets. Also good for non-descript mid-westerners that don't like a lot of action. No nightlife or mountains to hike  More

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Reviews for Ottumwa    5 Reviews

Over 12 years ago

Ottumwa has a seemingly high rate of theft-related crimes as well as drug use which I'm sure correlates to the incidences of assault. For a community of 20-30,000, the  More

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Over 16 years ago

ottumwa, Iowa has no diverse culture. It is not very open especially when it comes to branching out to new ideas of others culture...The idea of culture here is the pro  More

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Over 17 years ago

Pros: 1. Extremely low cost of living and housing 2. Affordable place to live Cons: 1. High crime rate 2. Very poor school system 3. Economically depressed 4.  More

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