Urbandale

History

Before Urbandale was incorporated, citizens raised $2,000 to build a two room schoolhouse and by 1916 it was ready to be used. To avoid being part of the Johnston School District, it needed to establish their own school district and could be done if it was legally incorporated. Urbandale was incorporated as a city on April 16, 1917. In its early days, Urbandale served as a streetcar suburb of Des Moines with four coal mines. The cars mainly served coal miners and students attending Roosevelt High School or Des Moines North High School. Transit data showed that on one day, 4,900 passengers would use the service, with 10 total cars being used for a 15.2 mile long round trip. Urbandale served as the end of the "Urbandale Line" after plans to build a railroad from Des Moines to Woodward were abandoned because of right-of-way issues. The coal mines had closed by the end of the 1940s while streetcar service ended in 1951. Gas shuttle buses and curb liner operations took over the service, and many current DART bus routes follow the old paths of the streetcars. In 1956, The Suburban Press brought up Urban News which remains the only Urbandale-specific news publication in the city's history. By the summer of 1956, there were 800 people subscribed to the newspaper and by 1957 it had over 2,500 subscribers. In 1920, shortly after the city incorporated, Urbandale had 298 people. Its population in 1950 was 1,777, but the city grew rapidly after that along with the rest of Des Moines' suburbs. By 1970, Urbandale had 14,434 people, and in 2000 it had 29,072. Although most of the city's developed area is in Polk County, Urbandale has expanded westward into Dallas County in recent years. In 2019, Dallas County was the 8th fastest growing counties in the United States, with a 36%…

Geography

Urbandale is located in the northwest part of the Des Moines Metro Area at the intersections of Interstates 35 and 80, and Iowa Highway 141. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. In January 2022, an agreement with the city of Grimes created an imaginary "annexation line". Both cities agreed that in the next 10 years of expansion, Urbandale could annex everything south of the line, and Grimes could annex everything north of the line. On June 17, 2025, a plan to annex of land belonging to the Des Moines Christian School Association was approved. The property was previously a part of the city of Grimes. Urbandale is in Tornado Alley which makes it more prone to tornadoes. Urbandale has been hit by two tornadoes, an F2 on October 16, 1966, and an EF1 on July 15, 2024. Urbandale has a humid continental climate (Dfa) under the Köppen climate classification. January averages around -5.4 °C (22.3°F) daily. Every month's average temperature is above 22 °C (71.6 °F), and seven months average above 10 °C (50 °F). The coldest temperature recorded was -35.6 °C (-32 °F) which happened on Friday, January 12, 1912. The hottest temperature recorded was 45.0 °C (113 °F) which happened on Wednesday, August 8, 1934. Summer temperatures can often climb into the 90 °F (32 °C) range, occasionally reaching 100 °F (38 °C). Humidity can be high in spring and summer, with frequent afternoon thunderstorms. Winters vary from moderately cold to bitterly cold, with low temperatures venturing below 0 °F (−18 °C) quite often. Snowfall averages 36.5 inches (93 cm) per season, and annual precipitation averages 36.55 inches (928 mm), with a peak in the warmer months.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Lincoln High School
  High · Des Moines · 2,403 students · 26.7:1 ratio
• Valley High School
  High · West Des Moines · 2,152 students · 17.9:1 ratio
• East High School
  High · Des Moines · 2,040 students · 21.7:1 ratio
• Roosevelt High School
  High · Des Moines · 1,986 students · 30.1:1 ratio
• Johnston Senior High School
  High · Johnston · 1,790 students · 20.1:1 ratio
• North High School
  High · Des Moines · 1,458 students · 22.1:1 ratio
• Urbandale High School
  High · Urbandale · 1,347 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• Johnston Middle School
  Other · Johnston · 1,166 students · 18.2:1 ratio