Data / Civilian labor force / West Des Moines, IA

Civilian labor force in West Des Moines, IA

Civilian labor force in West Des Moines, IA was 44,750 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 1.8% from 2024. That is the 6th highest of 23 cities in 2025.

2025, persons44,750
Change on 2024+1.8%
Rank6th of 23Cities in Iowa ranked
Series high44,7502025
Series low19,5911990

Next release: Wednesday, 28 October 2026, 10:00 ET, announced by BLS. Release calendar

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Civilian labor force in West Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025

10K20K30K40K50K19901996200220082014202020251990: 19,591 persons1991: 19,993 persons1992: 20,619 persons1993: 21,276 persons1994: 21,552 persons1995: 21,976 persons1996: 22,263 persons1997: 22,062 persons1998: 22,244 persons1999: 22,174 persons2000: 29,117 persons2001: 29,524 persons2002: 30,361 persons2003: 30,051 persons2004: 30,359 persons2005: 32,408 persons2006: 33,351 persons2007: 33,640 persons2008: 34,099 persons2009: 34,659 persons2010: 34,609 persons2011: 34,982 persons2012: 35,246 persons2013: 36,619 persons2014: 38,067 persons2015: 37,946 persons2016: 38,504 persons2017: 38,957 persons2018: 39,935 persons2019: 41,318 persons2020: 40,220 persons2021: 41,018 persons2022: 42,227 persons2023: 43,631 persons2024: 43,963 persons2025: 44,750 persons10K20K30K40K50K19902002201420251990: 19,591 persons1991: 19,993 persons1992: 20,619 persons1993: 21,276 persons1994: 21,552 persons1995: 21,976 persons1996: 22,263 persons1997: 22,062 persons1998: 22,244 persons1999: 22,174 persons2000: 29,117 persons2001: 29,524 persons2002: 30,361 persons2003: 30,051 persons2004: 30,359 persons2005: 32,408 persons2006: 33,351 persons2007: 33,640 persons2008: 34,099 persons2009: 34,659 persons2010: 34,609 persons2011: 34,982 persons2012: 35,246 persons2013: 36,619 persons2014: 38,067 persons2015: 37,946 persons2016: 38,504 persons2017: 38,957 persons2018: 39,935 persons2019: 41,318 persons2020: 40,220 persons2021: 41,018 persons2022: 42,227 persons2023: 43,631 persons2024: 43,963 persons2025: 44,750 persons
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-09-30.
All 36 values
Periodpersons
202544,750
202443,963
202343,631
202242,227
202141,018
202040,220
201941,318
201839,935
201738,957
201638,504
201537,946
201438,067
201336,619
201235,246
201134,982
201034,609
200934,659
200834,099
200733,640
200633,351
200532,408
200430,359
200330,051
200230,361
200129,524
200029,117
199922,174
199822,244
199722,062
199622,263
199521,976
199421,552
199321,276
199220,619
199119,993
199019,591

Rankings

Definition

Employed plus unemployed residents, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. Counts people where they live, not jobs: for wage and salary jobs by state use oews_employment. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

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How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average (Civilian labor force, West Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, Civilian labor force, West Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/civilian-labor-force/west-des-moines-ia. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Civilian labor force, West Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/civilian-labor-force/west-des-moines-ia.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, Civilian labor force, West Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/civilian-labor-force/west-des-moines-ia (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_civilian_labor_force_west_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: Civilian labor force, West Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/civilian-labor-force/west-des-moines-ia. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: Civilian labor force, West Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/civilian-labor-force/west-des-moines-ia
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/civilian-labor-force/west-des-moines-ia.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the civilian labor force in West Des Moines, IA?

Civilian labor force in West Des Moines, IA was 44,750 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 1.8% from 2024. That is the 6th highest of 23 cities in 2025.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest civilian labor force in West Des Moines, IA?

44,750 in 2025, the highest value since 1990 in this series.

Civilian labor force elsewhere in Iowa

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