Housing in Lower Beaver at a glance
- Population
- about 6,681
- Housing units
- about 2,965
- Median value, owner-occupied homes
- $235,000Des Moines: $194,700 (+21%)
- Median gross rent
- $1,170 a monthDes Moines: $1,090 (+7%)
- Owner-occupied homes
- 73.9%Des Moines: 60.5%
- Homes built before 1980
- 80.5%
- Median year built
- 1959
Lower Beaver lies in the north-west of Des Moines, and owners clearly dominate: 73.9% of households own, second-highest of ten, while 742 households rent. Values reach $235,000, fourth of ten and 21% on top of Des Moines's $194,700. Beaverdale, just beside it, is slightly higher ($243,000), whereas Highland Park/Oak Park falls to $148,000 and Merle Hay sits at $197,000. Housing is older, with 80.5% built before 1980, seventh-highest of ten, and typical construction in 1959. Rent of $1,170 ranks fifth of ten, between Merle Hay ($1,300) and Highland Park/Oak Park ($1,080). Merle Hay stands out for age, with 92.5% of homes from before 1980, and Highland Park/Oak Park follows at 90.8%, so Lower Beaver is the newer of this group. Its 6,681 residents live in 2,965 homes. Beaverdale, with 72.1% owners and 81.3% pre-1980 housing, resembles it closely, and Merle Hay's owner share, 72.4%, is similar. Beaverdale dates to around 1957 and Merle Hay to around 1953. Rent is lowest in Highland Park/Oak Park.
Questions about Lower Beaver
What is the median home value in Lower Beaver, Des Moines?
$235,000 for owner-occupied homes, against $194,700 for Des Moines as a whole (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary). It is the owners' own estimate of their home's value, not a sale price.
What is the median rent in Lower Beaver?
$1,170 a month in gross rent (rent plus utilities paid by the renter), against $1,090 in Des Moines (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary).
Do most people in Lower Beaver own or rent?
Most own: 73.9% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, against 60.5% in Des Moines (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary).
Data and method
Data as of: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (retrieved 2026-11-02).
Estimate from the 2 census tracts whose internal point lies within the official boundary: counts are summed, and each median is recomputed from the summed value, rent and year-built brackets (grouped median, linear interpolation). The gap with the city is measured with the same method on the whole city.
Lower Beaver is one of the 10 most populous of 51 neighborhoods of Des Moines: estimated population about 6,681 (Payotte estimate: Census ACS 2020-2024 populations of the census tracts whose internal point lies inside the boundary; boundaries from City of Des Moines GIS, Neighborhoods, consulted 2026-11-02).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B01003, B25001, B25003, B25034, B25063, B25064, B25075, B25077; U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer files (census tract internal points). City figures: the same survey, published for Des Moines as a whole. Home values are owners' estimates, not sale prices.
Near Lower Beaver
The closest sectors of Des Moines, by distance between population centres.
Other sectors of Des Moines
Five trades, one spot each
Payotte lists one professional per trade in Lower Beaver. No one is listed yet: every spot is open.
- Real estate agentOpen spot
- Mortgage loan officerOpen spot
- Home inspectorOpen spot
- Real estate attorneyOpen spot
- AppraiserOpen spot
Work in one of these trades in Lower Beaver? Ask for your spot.