April 17, 2026
By: Chris Costa
Why Greater Des Moines Competes Nationally in Economic Development
As a real estate developer with more than three decades in the industry, I have had a front-row seat to the growth and momentum of the Greater Des Moines region. I have seen projects come together because the right people are willing to collaborate and invest in the Greater Des Moines region.
The Greater Des Moines MSA was recently named the #2 Top Performing Metro for Economic Development in the nation among its tier metros in Site Selection Magazine’s 2025 Governor’s Cup. The Tier 2 category includes metros with populations between 200,000 and 1 million residents.
The Governor’s Cup is one of the most respected benchmarks in the economic development industry. This recognition shows that Greater Des Moines is competing on a national stage.
It’s not surprising when you consider how much activity is happening. More than $5.7B of capital investment and economic development activity is currently underway in the region, with another $2B in the queue. In 2025, The Partnership garnered 140 new or existing regional and Downtown project leads, the most in years.
This success mirrors what we are seeing as a region with population and gross domestic product growth outpacing our peers. Economist James Chung, who performed a data analysis on Greater Des Moines, said that what’s happening here is unusual compared to other regions. One of the reasons behind that is the culture of collaboration that defines Greater Des Moines.
“Most people think this is normal,” Chung said at the recent 2025 Greater Des Moines Regional Summit. “It’s not. What’s happening here is extraordinary.”
One reason I am excited about chairing the Greater Des Moines Partnership is because the organization’s core focus is economic development. Creating opportunities for businesses to expand or relocate to our region is paramount, and these projects lead to growth and a healthier community for everyone.
The Partnership team travels the nation, and even internationally, helping sell our region as the best place to grow a business. Those leads are brought back to our cities and counties, and everyone works together with a number of partners to determine the most viable path forward for a project.
Economic development is a team sport. Greater Des Moines benefits from having strong collaboration among city, county and state leaders. Site selectors tell us that we collaborate as a region better than most. They can tell the difference when working with economic development partners in Greater Des Moines. We work together across sectors and across jurisdictional boundaries for the betterment of the entire region.
Collaboration in Greater Des Moines
The spirit of collaboration is also clear in the way that local expansion projects come together. A recent project illustrates how this collaborative approach works in practice. Vermeer Corporation announced the acquisition of 186 acres of land and the intent to build an all-new 300,000-square-foot facility in Bondurant that will be home to 300+ jobs. The Partnership’s team worked closely with the company, the City of Bondurant and the Iowa Economic Development Authority on this expansion.
Projects like this demonstrate how The Partnership’s team can help our existing businesses grow in the region. Economic development success doesn’t happen by accident in our region. It happens because communities, businesses and partners across the region work together.
If you are considering growing your business, reach out to a Partnership team member to see how the team can help.
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Chris Costa
Chris Costa is President and CEO at Knapp Properties, Inc.