Urbandale, Iowa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Urbandale, Iowa
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Living History Farms, a museum in Urbandale
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Location of Urbandale in Iowa
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 Urbandale, Iowa
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
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| State |  Iowa |
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| Counties | Polk, Dallas | |
| Incorporated | April 16, 1917 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Council-manager government | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 22.55 sq mi (58.41 km2) | |
| • Land | 22.53 sq mi (58.35 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.02 sq mi (0.06 km2) | |
| Elevation | 981 ft (299 m) | |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 45,580 | |
| • Rank | 12th in Iowa | |
| • Density | 2,023.26/sq mi (781.19/km2) | |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central (CST)) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) | |
| ZIP Codes |
50322, 50323, 50325, 50111, 50131, 50263,
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| Area code(s) | 515 | |
| FIPS code | 19-79950 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 2397100 | |
Urbandale is a city in Iowa, a state in the United States. It is located in both Polk and Dallas counties. In 2020, about 45,580 people lived there. Urbandale is part of the larger Des Moines area.
Contents
Urbandale's Story: How It Grew
Urbandale became an official city on April 16, 1917. In its early days, it was a "streetcar suburb" of Des Moines. This means people used streetcars to travel between Urbandale and the bigger city. Urbandale also had four coal mines.
There were plans to build a railroad from Des Moines to Woodward. However, these plans were stopped. So, Urbandale became the end of the "Urbandale Line" for streetcars. The coal mines closed by the late 1940s. Streetcar service stopped in 1951.
In 1920, soon after it became a city, Urbandale had only 298 people. By 1950, its population grew to 1,777. After that, the city grew much faster, just like other suburbs around Des Moines. By 1970, 14,434 people lived in Urbandale. In 2000, the population reached 29,072. Most of Urbandale is in Polk County. But in recent years, the city has grown westward into Dallas County.
In 2012, then-President Barack Obama visited Urbandale. He held a campaign event at Living History Farms.
Where is Urbandale?
Urbandale is in the northwest part of the Des Moines area. It is located where major highways meet. These include Interstates 35 and 80, and Iowa Highway 141.
The city covers about 21.94 square miles (56.82 km2) of land and water. Most of this area, about 21.92 square miles (56.77 km2), is land. Only a small part, about 0.02 square miles (0.05 km2), is water.
Who Lives in Urbandale?
In 2020, there were 45,580 people living in Urbandale. There were 17,528 households, which are groups of people living together. About 12,398 of these were families. The city had about 2,023 people per square mile.
Most people in Urbandale are White (83.1%). Other groups include Black or African American (4.0%), Asian (5.5%), and Native American (0.2%). About 1.6% were from other races. About 5.6% were from two or more races. People who are Hispanic or Latino made up 4.9% of the population.
In 2020, about 35% of households had children under 18. Most households (59.2%) were married couples living together. The average age in Urbandale was 39.3 years. About 28.4% of people were under 20 years old. About 15.9% were 65 years or older. The city had slightly more females (50.8%) than males (49.2%).
| Historical populations | ||
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| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1920 | 298 | — |
| 1930 | 596 | +100.0% |
| 1940 | 1,083 | +81.7% |
| 1950 | 1,777 | +64.1% |
| 1960 | 5,821 | +227.6% |
| 1970 | 14,434 | +148.0% |
| 1980 | 17,869 | +23.8% |
| 1990 | 23,500 | +31.5% |
| 2000 | 29,072 | +23.7% |
| 2010 | 39,463 | +35.7% |
| 2020 | 45,580 | +15.5% |
| Source: and Iowa Data Center Source: |
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What Does Urbandale Do?
Urbandale is mostly a place where people live. However, more businesses have been built there recently. Many of these are in the "Urban Loop" business parks. This area is a 12-mile stretch of I-35 and I-80. Businesses in the Urban Loop are easy to see from the highway. This helps them grow quickly.
The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) has its office in Urbandale. This group helps run multi-state lottery games like Powerball.
Top Jobs in Urbandale
Here are some of the biggest employers in Urbandale, based on a 2017 report:
| # | Employer | # of employees |
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| 1 | Mercer | 1,300 |
| 2 | United States Postal Service | 700 |
| 3 | Unity Point at Home | 575 |
| 4 | Continental Western Insurance | 500 |
| 5 | Urbandale Community Schools | 450 |
| 6 | John Deere Intelligent Solutions | 450 |
| 7 | Quality Manufacturing Corp. | 450 |
| 8 | MidAmerican Energy Company | 404 |
| 9 | Homemakers Furniture | 345 |
| 10 | Pepsi-Cola Bottling, Co | 320 |
The Urban Loop Business Area
The Urban Loop is a special area in Urbandale for new businesses. It is known for its easy access to roads and highways. This includes the interstate, other highways, and local roads.
Before 2017, people sometimes called this area "Rider Corner." This name came from a ninety-degree bend in the I-35/I-80 interstate system. In the fall of 2017, the city officially named it the Urban Loop. The city government and businesses now use this name.
Fun Things to Do in Urbandale
Urbandale has over 850 acres (3.4 km2) of parks. It also has 33 miles (53 km) of fun trails for walking or biking. These trails connect to other trails in the Des Moines area.
The city is home to Living History Farms. This is a museum where you can see what farm life was like in the past. In 1979, Pope John Paul II visited Living History Farms. He spoke to a very large crowd of about 350,000 people.
Urbandale also has the Buccaneer Arena. This is where the Des Moines Buccaneers hockey team plays their games.
Learning in Urbandale
Several public school districts serve different parts of Urbandale. These include the Urbandale Community School District, Dallas Center–Grimes Community School District, Des Moines School District, Johnston School District, Waukee School District, and West Des Moines School District.
The Urbandale Community School District has six elementary schools. It also has one middle school and one high school, which is Urbandale High School.
There are also private schools in Urbandale. Des Moines Christian School is located there. St. Pius X Catholic School is also in Urbandale. It opened in 1956 with 120 students. The Catholic high school for the area is Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines.
Famous People from Urbandale
- Eddie Berlin – a former professional football player for the Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans.
- Gannon Buhr – a professional disc golf player who won the 2022 United States Disc Golf Championship.
- Scott Clemmensen – a former professional hockey player for teams like the Florida Panthers.
- Dan Gehlbach – a member of the Iowa House of Representatives.
- Paul Gray – a former bassist for the band Slipknot.
- Tom Hess – a professional bowler who won the 2011 USBC Masters.
- Chuck Horner – a former four-star general in the United States Air Force. He led the air power during the Gulf War.
- Allen Lazard – a professional football player for the New York Jets.
- Sean Runyan – a former professional baseball player for the Detroit Tigers.
- Paul J. Springer – an author and professor at the Air Command and Staff College.
See also
In Spanish: Urbandale (Iowa) para niños
