Southwestern Hills, Des Moines
Southwestern Hills is one of the 46 neighborhoods the City of Des Moines recognizes (city neighborhood list). The city's list gives its recognition date as November 7, 1994, a date one other neighborhood shares.
Boundaries
| North | Water Works Park |
|---|---|
| South | Army Post Road |
| East | Fleur Drive |
| West | SW 63rd Street |
The website the city lists for the Southwestern Hills association: swhna.com (checked November 5, 2026).
Residential parcels and assessed values
The Polk County Auditor's parcel data puts 1,941 residential parcels inside Southwestern Hills' boundary, 146 of them condominium units: the 14th highest count of the 46 neighborhoods. 1,797 of them have a dwelling value. Their median assessed value is $328,900, and the middle half are assessed between $270,200 and $427,100.
That median is the 6th highest of the 46 neighborhoods' medians. The middle of those 46 medians is $201,725, and Southwestern Hills' is $127,175 above it.
Assessed for property tax as of January 1, 2025; not sale prices. What is counted.
School districts
Southwestern Hills' residential parcels are in two school districts:
- Des Moines Independent Community School District: 1,934 parcels (99.6%)
- West Des Moines Community School District: 7 parcels (0.4%)
Address look-up: West Des Moines district boundaries. Finding the school for an address.
Property taxes
Southwestern Hills' residential parcels are in two 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 | 1,934 99.6% |
| Des Moines city, West Des Moines schools | 40.74256 | 7 0.4% |
On a home assessed at Southwestern Hills' median, $328,900, in the largest district, the yearly tax works out to about $6,195.29: $328,900 × 44.5345% rollback = $146,473 taxable, ÷ 1,000 × $43.74496 = $6,407.46, less the $212.16 homestead credit (who gets it).
Estimate the tax on another value → · Every Des Moines taxing district →
Census figures
No Census figures are quoted for Southwestern Hills: the three block groups mostly inside it cover 43.2% of its area and hold 73.7% of its 2,667 housing units in the 2020 Census, short of the 80% this site needs for both. How block groups are matched.
Parks
The city's parks layer has six parks mostly inside Southwestern Hills' boundary, and one more partly inside or along it (which parks are listed).
Mostly inside: Brody School Park, Carney Park, Harmon Park, Jefferson Elementary Schoolyard, Bill Riley Trail Greenway (linear park), Great Western Trail (linear park).
Partly inside or along the boundary: Water Works Park.
All 46 recognized neighborhoods → · ← South Central DSM · Union Park →
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.
- West Des Moines Community Schools, Boundaries (address look-up and boundary maps). 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.
- 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.