Watrous Heights, Des Moines
Watrous Heights is one of the 46 neighborhoods the City of Des Moines recognizes (city neighborhood list). The city's list gives its recognition date as August 28, 2017; 44 of the 46 were recognized in an earlier year.
Boundaries
| North | Park Ave |
|---|---|
| South | Mckinley Ave |
| East | SE 5th Street |
| West | SW 9th Street |
The website the city lists for the Watrous Heights association: watrousheightsna.com (checked November 5, 2026).
Residential parcels and assessed values
The Polk County Auditor's parcel data puts 1,471 residential parcels inside Watrous Heights' boundary: the 17th highest count of the 46 neighborhoods. 1,411 of them have a dwelling value. Their median assessed value is $191,400, and the middle half are assessed between $160,450 and $222,950.
That median is the 20th lowest of the 46 neighborhoods' medians. The middle of those 46 medians is $201,725, and Watrous Heights' is $10,325 below it.
Assessed for property tax as of January 1, 2025; not sale prices. What is counted.
School and taxing district
Every residential parcel in Watrous Heights is in the Des Moines Independent Community School District and in one taxing district, Des Moines city, Des Moines Independent schools, at a consolidated rate of $43.74496 per $1,000 of taxable value for the bills paid in September 2026 and March 2027 (Polk County Auditor's rate table). 34 other neighborhoods are wholly in the same two.
Finding the school for an address.
On a home assessed at Watrous Heights' median, $191,400, the yearly tax works out to about $3,516.61: $191,400 × 44.5345% rollback = $85,239 taxable, ÷ 1,000 × $43.74496 = $3,728.78, less the $212.16 homestead credit (who gets it).
Estimate the tax on another value → · Every Des Moines taxing district →
Census figures
Four Census block groups lie mostly inside Watrous Heights (how they are matched). Together they cover 99.9% of its area and hold 100.0% of its 1,482 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 $166,200 to $188,700 and median years built from 1959 to 1964.
| Block group | Median value owners' own estimate | Median year built |
|---|---|---|
| Block group 2, tract 4331.8% of Watrous Heights' 2020 housing units | $188,700 ± $23,278 | 1964 ± 3 years |
| Block group 3, tract 4318.7% of Watrous Heights' 2020 housing units | $166,200 ± $12,735 | 1961 ± 6 years |
| Block group 4, tract 4319.4% of Watrous Heights' 2020 housing units | — margin of error too wide | 1959 ± 6 years |
| Block group 3, tract 45.0130.2% of Watrous Heights' 2020 housing units | $170,100 ± $14,067 | — margin of error too wide |
Owner-occupied homes, pooled over the four block groups: 88.1% of 1,583 occupied homes (± 7.5 points; pooled with the Census Bureau's formulas).
Parks
The city's parks layer shows no park, linear park or open space inside or touching Watrous Heights' boundary.
All 46 recognized neighborhoods → · ← Waterbury · Watrous South →
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.