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Economic Development in Greater Des Moines

In Greater Des Moines, businesses find greater opportunities for growth and expansion. Greater Des Moines 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.

Greater Des Moines is a multi-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. Greater Des Moines is the fastest growing major metro in the Midwest and is recognized as a place where businesses can grow and thrive. The Greater Des Moines MSA ranked #2 top metro for number of economic development projects (among metros with a population of 200,000 to 1 milllion in Site Selection Magazine’s 2025 Governor’s Cup, reflecting strong performance in attracting new and expanded corporate projects. Forbes ranks Greater Des Moines as a top 10 place for business and careers and Business Facilities Magazine selected Greater Des Moines as a top 10 mid-sized metro for best business climate.

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 multi-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.

Economic Development in Greater Des Moines

Grow in Greater Des Moines

Available Sites and Buildings

Data

Economic Climate

Entrepreneurship

The DSM Advantage

Economic Development Services

Key Industries

Major Employers

Why Greater Des Moines

Why The Partnership

Build Your Greater Here