Buying a Home in Pleasant Hill
A quiet east-metro city bordering Des Moines, with lake and trail access.
Pleasant Hill sits directly against the east side of Des Moines, which makes it one of the shorter commutes in the metro while still being a separate city with its own quieter residential character.
Copper Creek Lake Park is the local centerpiece, and the city has added newer neighborhoods around it while keeping a low-key feel overall.
Highlights
- Copper Creek Lake Park — swimming, trails, and open space
- Directly adjacent to Des Moines, keeping commutes short
- A mix of established homes and newer subdivisions
- Chichaqua Valley and Gay Lea Wilson trail connections
Pleasant Hill by the numbers
Home value, rent & market activity: Zillow Research (September 2026). Income & demographics: U.S. Census ACS (5-year).
Browse current Pleasant Hill listings on Zillow →
Renting in Pleasant Hill: 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.
Pleasant Hill spans two school districts, and they can point in opposite directions — which is why there is no single figure for Pleasant Hill. 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
Primarily the Southeast Polk Community School District, with portions in Des Moines Public Schools depending on location — verify by address.
Getting around
East metro bordering Des Moines; often 12–18 minutes to downtown via US-65 or Hubbell Ave.
Iowa costs in Pleasant Hill
Property tax: 2 taxing districts, from $37.65995 to $38.28496 per $1,000 of taxable value for the bills paid September 2026 and March 2027. Estimate the tax on a home in Pleasant Hill → Pleasant Hill rates by district, with example bills →
School districts paired with the city in the Polk, Dallas and Warren county tax tables: Southeast Polk, Des Moines Independent. 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 Pleasant Hill →
General guide only — verify school boundaries, taxes, and current prices for any specific address. Not real-estate or financial advice.