capital of iowa

The capital of Iowa is Des Moines.

Quick Scoop: Capital of Iowa

Fast facts

• Capital of Iowa: Des Moines.

• Also the state’s largest city and main political and economic center.

• Located in central Iowa at the Des Moines River (meeting the Raccoon River nearby).

• Acts as the seat of Polk County, with parts of the city extending into Warren County.

A tiny bit of story

Des Moines started out in the 1800s as Fort Des Moines, a frontier military post guarding the confluence of the rivers in what is now central Iowa. As the settlement grew from a fort into a town, the name was shortened to Des Moines in 1857, and the city eventually solidified its role as Iowa’s capital and hub for state politics, insurance, and finance.

Today, Des Moines centers around its distinctive gold-domed Iowa State Capitol building, which overlooks downtown and houses the governor’s office and the Iowa legislature. That mix of historic government core and modern economic activity is what makes Des Moines stand out when people talk about the capital of Iowa.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.