Buying a Home in Ankeny
The north metro's growth engine — new construction, new retail, and a lot of young families.
Ankeny has spent years near the top of Iowa's fastest-growing city lists, and the north metro has been built out around that growth: new subdivisions, new retail corridors along Delaware and Oralabor, and a school district that has expanded to two high schools to keep pace.
Buyers come here for newer housing stock at a more approachable price than the western suburbs, plus a straight shot down I-35 into Des Moines.
Highlights
- Prairie Trail: a large mixed-use development with its own town-center feel
- The main campus of Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC)
- High Trestle Trail access — one of Iowa's best-known bike trails
- A high share of newer construction across a wide price range
Ankeny by the numbers
Home value, rent & market activity: Zillow Research (September 2026). Income & demographics: U.S. Census ACS (5-year).
Browse current Ankeny listings on Zillow →
Renting in Ankeny: rent figures, renters and the monthly cost to own →
School choice: who is moving in, and out
Iowa lets parents enroll a child in a public district other than the one they live in (Iowa Code §282.18). The state publishes the counts, which shows something a school rating cannot: which districts families are actively choosing, and which they are leaving.
School district boundaries do not follow city limits. Figures below describe the district, not the city, and the two can differ a great deal: the Urbandale district covers 35.9% of the city of Urbandale's land area, and the Waukee district also reaches into West Des Moines, Urbandale and Clive (federal school district boundary file; see which districts reach which cities). Check any specific address before relying on this.
Source: Iowa Department of Education, Certified Enrollment by District, 2025-26 school year. The bar shows transfers in and out as shares of all transfers, not the net. Percentages are of the public-school students who live in the district (certified enrollment), including those who open-enroll elsewhere. The state counts all of these in full-time equivalents, so the whole numbers here are rounded. A net loss is not a verdict on a school — large districts lose more simply by being large, and families transfer for childcare, a parent's commute and sibling placement as well as for academics.
Schools
Mostly the Ankeny Community School District, which operates two high schools, with smaller parts of the city in the Saydel and North Polk districts. Boundaries have shifted with growth, so confirm for a specific address rather than a neighborhood.
Getting around
Straight down I-35 to downtown Des Moines, typically 20–25 minutes outside of peak. Rush hour on I-35 southbound is the main constraint.
Iowa costs in Ankeny
Property tax: 3 taxing districts, from $33.17101 to $39.38787 per $1,000 of taxable value for the bills paid September 2026 and March 2027. Estimate the tax on a home in Ankeny → Ankeny rates by district, with example bills →
School districts paired with the city in the Polk, Dallas and Warren county tax tables: Saydel, Ankeny, North Polk. How districts and city lines differ →
Closing costs: Iowa's transfer tax, recording fees and Iowa Title Guaranty, figured exactly. Iowa closing cost calculator →
Metro context
Source: Realtor.com via FRED · Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA · figures for October 2026.
Estimate buy vs rent for Ankeny →
General guide only — verify school boundaries, taxes, and current prices for any specific address. Not real-estate or financial advice.