Who lives in West Des Moines, Iowa

West Des Moines is a suburb of about 68,744 people on the western edge of the Des Moines metro, spread across Polk and Dallas counties. Its character is set by the office campuses that anchor it: Wells Fargo runs its largest campus here, and the city is thick with insurance and financial-services employers, the grocery headquarters of Hy-Vee, and the upscale draw of Jordan Creek Town Center. Historic Valley Junction gives it an older, walkable counterweight to the newer west-side developments.

The age curve sits close to the national one, with a mean near 46, slightly younger than the country and weighted toward working professionals. What sets these residents apart is not who they are on paper but how they run their lives. The clearest signal is sleep: roughly 49% treat rest as a high priority, about a half again the national share, an unusually deliberate posture for a place often read only through its income.

The Big Five fingerprint here is quiet. Openness runs just under national and the other four traits sit within a point of the center line, so personality is not where this audience separates from the country. The distance shows up in behavior instead.

Decision-making is measured. Quick and deliberate buyers both hold ground, and the audience does not reward a manufactured deadline. Risk appetite leans a touch conservative, the High bucket running a few points below national, which fits a workforce steeped in insurance and banking where weighing the downside is second nature. Substance and proof carry more weight here than speed.

On values, West Des Moines reads close to the national grain. Environmental concern, support for local business, and ethical-consumption habits all land within a few points of typical, so neither a green crusade nor a buy-local appeal will distinguish you on its own.

The one real tilt is toward institutions. Residents are more willing than most to give companies the benefit of the doubt, with the trusting share running above national and the cynical end thinner. In a place where so many households earn their living inside large, established firms, brand credibility and a solid corporate name open more doors than an underdog or anti-establishment angle.

Media habits run close to the national center, so reach is a matter of fit rather than a single channel. Facebook carries the largest single share of attention, a touch above national, with YouTube and Instagram behind it and a sizable group not anchored to any one platform. Format preference is evenly split across short video, long video, and text.

The practical read: meet them on Facebook and video for breadth, but lead with substance. This is an audience that responds to proof, credentials, and a credible name more than to urgency or spectacle, so detail-rich content will outperform a hard sell.

Spending behavior is disciplined in a way that matches the income base. About a third save aggressively and the non-saver share is well under national, near 17% against roughly 27%. These households put money away as a default rather than a stretch.

That cushion shows up in confidence: financial stress runs low for about 40% here, comfortably above national, and they are far less likely to sit on the sidelines as non-investors. Purchases skew toward the regular and considered, with monthly buyers leading. Quality and price both matter, and the pitch that works is one built on long-term value rather than a one-time deal.

This is where the profile comes alive. About 48% take a proactive approach to their health, well above the national third, and the reactive-only crowd is markedly thinner here. They carry that planning into care: the share that waits for something to break before seeing a doctor runs well below national, and minimal insurance coverage is rare, under 8% against roughly a fifth of the country.

The same openness extends to the mind. Residents here are far more likely to treat mental wellness as something you talk about and tend to rather than keep private, with the open and advocate groups well ahead of national. Paired with the high priority on sleep, the picture is of households that manage well-being as actively as they manage a portfolio.