Residents of a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa, may be trying to flee the city at a higher rate than anywhere else in the country, an analysis found.
The moving research platform moveBuddha found that for every 18 people using the site to search for information about moving into the city of West Des Moines, 100 people were searching for information about moving out.
West Des Moines, which Money magazine ranked as one of America’s best places to live as recently as 2016, has been overtaken in popularity by other suburbs in the region.
“Today, Waukee is the state’s top move-to suburb, pulling in more new building permits than West Des Moines,” moveBuddha analysts wrote.
“And at [an average home value of] $319K, West Des Moines is pricey by Des Moines standards, so new Iowans aren’t seeing an affordability edge in the mature suburb, where the average home dates from 1993 (in Ankeny, homes average 16 years younger),” the company added.
The Independent has contacted the mayor, city council, and chamber of commerce of West Des Moines for comment.
Despite the apparent interest in leaving the area, West Des Moine’s overall population has continued to grow largely unabated since 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Another 2025 analysis, from U.S. News and World Report, listed the move from West Des Moines to Phoenix, Arizona, as the third most popular city-to-city migration path in the country, with analysts guessing the residents were “likely seeking warmer year-round weather, perhaps for retirement.”
moveBuddha identified the following cities as rounding out the top 10 destination residents seem to be seeking to exit: San Marcos, California; Port Richey, Florida; Yonkers, New York; Moscow, Idaho; Norwalk, Connecticut; Lowell, Massachusetts; Ellicott City, Maryland; Woodbridge, Virginia; and Issaquah, Washington.
The company identified eight of 10 of those cities as pricier satellite communities that were once desirable areas near larger metro areas, such as Yonkers, which is just north of New York City, or Woodbridge, which is nestled outside of Washington, D.C.
“In just about every state, movers are turning on yesterday’s star suburbs; they make up 8 out of the 10 least popular cities and 30 of the 50 states’ top exit cities,” moveBuddha wrote.
The results seem to match other recent analyses of moving trends.
The Journal of Consumer Research found that between March 2024 and 2025, interest in leaving was highest in higher-cost states mentioned in moveBuddha’s unpopular cities research, including California, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Washington.
In- and outflow data has long been a source of bragging rights for local governments, especially in places like California, which has worked to lower its historic affordability issues and population outflow in recent years.
