I whakaurua i runga i Mahuru 22, 1851, rite Fort Des Moines, i whakaitihia ki "Des Moines" i roto i 1857. Kei runga i a huaina i muri i te awa Des Moines, i te mea pea i whakaritea i te ingoa French wawe, Rivière des Moines, te tikanga "River o te Monks". Ko te taupori o te pa ko 216,853 rite o te tatauranga taupori 2018. Ko te rohe metropolitan rima-kaute te whakarārangi 89 i roto i ngā o te taupori i roto i te United States ki 655,940 e ai ki te tatauranga 2018 e te United States Census Bureau, a ko te rohe metropolitan nui rawa i roto i te rohe o te rohe.
Te rohe o Polk