Merle Hay, Des Moines
Merle Hay is one of the 46 neighborhoods the City of Des Moines recognizes (city neighborhood list). The city's list gives its recognition date as April 3, 2000; 30 of the 46 were recognized in an earlier year.
Boundaries
| North | Aurora |
|---|---|
| South | Franklin & University |
| East | 51st & 48th Pl. & 48th St. |
| West | City Limits |
The website the city lists for the Merle Hay association: merlehay.org (checked November 5, 2026).
Residential parcels and assessed values
The Polk County Auditor's parcel data puts 3,997 residential parcels inside Merle Hay's boundary, 24 of them condominium units: the 4th highest count of the 46 neighborhoods. 3,896 of them have a dwelling value. Their median assessed value is $210,550, and the middle half are assessed between $179,100 and $242,300. Not counted: 24 parking, garage or storage units in condominiums.
That median is the 18th highest of the 46 neighborhoods' medians. The middle of those 46 medians is $201,725, and Merle Hay's is $8,825 above it.
Assessed for property tax as of January 1, 2025; not sale prices. What is counted.
School districts
Merle Hay's residential parcels are in two school districts:
- Des Moines Independent Community School District: 3,992 parcels (99.9%)
- Urbandale Community School District: 5 parcels (0.1%)
Finding the school for an address.
Property taxes
Merle Hay's residential parcels are in three taxing districts, at these consolidated rates per $1,000 of taxable value for the bills paid in September 2026 and March 2027 (Polk County Auditor's rate table):
| Taxing district | Rate per $1,000 | Residential parcels |
|---|---|---|
| Des Moines city, Des Moines Independent schools | 43.74496 | 3,791 94.8% |
| Des Moines city, Des Moines Independent schools, Urbandale-Windsor Heights sanitary sewer district | 44.15439 | 201 5.0% |
| Des Moines city, Urbandale schools, Urbandale-Windsor Heights sanitary sewer district | 46.09503 | 5 0.1% |
Where the Urbandale-Windsor Heights sanitary sewer district is added (5.0% of Merle Hay's residential parcels), the rate is $44.15439, against $43.74496 for the same city and Des Moines Independent schools without it. Where the Urbandale-Windsor Heights sanitary sewer district is added (0.1% of Merle Hay's residential parcels), the rate is $46.09503, against $45.68560 for the same city and Urbandale schools without it.
On a home assessed at Merle Hay's median, $210,550, in the largest district, the yearly tax works out to about $3,889.67: $210,550 × 44.5345% rollback = $93,767 taxable, ÷ 1,000 × $43.74496 = $4,101.83, less the $212.16 homestead credit (who gets it).
Estimate the tax on another value → · Every Des Moines taxing district →
Census figures
Ten Census block groups lie mostly inside Merle Hay (how they are matched). Together they cover 84.4% of its area and hold 90.7% of its 4,544 housing units in the 2020 Census. The table gives the Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates for them, with margins of error at 90% confidence: median values from $169,800 to $241,800 and median years built from 1944 to 1961.
| Block group | Median value owners' own estimate | Median year built |
|---|---|---|
| Block group 2, tract 8.016.2% of Merle Hay's 2020 housing units | $178,800 ± $12,818 | 1961 ± 8 years |
| Block group 6, tract 8.015.5% of Merle Hay's 2020 housing units | — margin of error too wide | 1957 ± 9 years |
| Block group 1, tract 8.038.1% of Merle Hay's 2020 housing units | $241,800 ± $24,324 | — margin of error too wide |
| Block group 2, tract 8.0310.1% of Merle Hay's 2020 housing units | $209,600 ± $35,162 | 1956 ± 5 years |
| Block group 3, tract 8.036.4% of Merle Hay's 2020 housing units | $210,800 ± $18,708 | 1955 ± 3 years |
| Block group 4, tract 8.0317.7% of Merle Hay's 2020 housing units | $188,900 ± $33,459 | 1952 ± 2 years |
| Block group 1, tract 9.0110.1% of Merle Hay's 2020 housing units | $195,300 ± $13,073 | 1954 ± 4 years |
| Block group 2, tract 9.016.8% of Merle Hay's 2020 housing units | $186,200 ± $9,223 | 1956 ± 3 years |
| Block group 3, tract 9.0111.1% of Merle Hay's 2020 housing units | $204,600 ± $19,273 | 1954 ± 3 years |
| Block group 4, tract 9.018.5% of Merle Hay's 2020 housing units | $169,800 ± $12,872 | 1944 ± 4 years |
Owner-occupied homes, pooled over the ten block groups: 76.4% of 3,979 occupied homes (± 4.1 points; pooled with the Census Bureau's formulas).
Parks
The city's parks layer has two parks mostly inside Merle Hay's boundary, and one more partly inside or along it (which parks are listed).
Mostly inside: Riley Park, Tower Park.
Partly inside or along the boundary: Inter-Urban Trail (linear park).
All 46 recognized neighborhoods → · ← McKinley School/Columbus Park · North of Grand →
Renting in Des Moines → Zillow's typical rent and the Census Bureau's renter figures for the city.
Sources
- City of Des Moines, Neighborhoods (recognized neighborhood boundaries, boundary streets, recognition dates and websites), Des Moines Area Regional GIS Partnership. Retrieved November 5, 2026. © City of Des Moines, Iowa. All rights reserved. Facts stated with credit; the boundary maps are not reproduced.
- Polk County Auditor, Polk County Cadastral Parcels REST service: parcel boundaries, condominium unit points and the Value table (tax year 2025). Retrieved November 5, 2026. Polk County compiled this information for government purposes only and makes no warranty; it is not responsible for non-governmental use.
- Polk County Auditor, Consolidated Tax Levy Rates For Polk County, Iowa: For 2025 Assessed Valuations, Taxes Payable September 2026 and March 2027 (City Non-Agricultural section). Retrieved November 5, 2026.
- Iowa Legislature, Iowa Code 2026, section 425.2 (qualifying for the homestead credit: claim filed by July 1 of the year claimed; a buyer refiles). Retrieved November 5, 2026.
- Iowa Department of Revenue, Homestead Tax Credit and Exemption. Retrieved November 5, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, TIGERweb, 2020 Census blocks with housing-unit counts (HU100). Retrieved November 5, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, TIGERweb, ACS 2024 block group boundaries. Retrieved November 5, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024: tables B25077 (median value), B25035 (median year structure built) and B25003 (tenure), by block group, via the Census Data API. Retrieved November 5, 2026. This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey and Puerto Rico Community Survey 2024 Subject Definitions (Value; Year Structure Built; Tenure). Retrieved November 5, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Understanding and Using American Community Survey Data (2020), chapter 8: Calculating Measures of Error for Derived Estimates. Retrieved November 5, 2026.
- City of Des Moines, Parks, Des Moines Area Regional GIS Partnership. Retrieved November 5, 2026. © City of Des Moines, Iowa. All rights reserved.
The city's boundaries are used only to count what falls inside them; this site does not reproduce the city's maps. This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Public records, shown as published for the dates named. Not an appraisal, not real-estate or tax advice. Check a specific address's school and tax district with the district and the county.