If you are choosing between Urbandale and Johnston, the clear answer is that these northwest-metro neighbors are less than 5 miles apart, overlap on at least one school district, and differ most in county lines, district coverage, housing mix and the amenities each city maintains. The right pick usually comes down to the exact address and the type of home you want, so it pays to compare them on facts rather than reputation.
Buyers searching the northwest side of the Des Moines metro often tour in both cities in the same weekend. Here is a side-by-side look built on public data, with the source behind every figure, so you can compare them straightforwardly.
Urbandale had 45,580 residents at the 2020 Census, and the Census Bureau estimates 48,570 as of July 1, 2025. Johnston had 24,064 residents in 2020 and an estimated 25,065 in 2025. Both cities added residents over that period: roughly 3,000 in Urbandale and roughly 1,000 in Johnston.
Urbandale covers about 22.5 square miles of land and spans Dallas and Polk counties. Johnston covers about 19.5 square miles and sits entirely in Polk County, by the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer and 2020 place-by-county file. Urbandale uses ZIP codes 50322 and 50323, and Johnston's main ZIP code is 50131.
This is a major difference between the two cities, and it is the first thing I check on any address.
By US Census Bureau school-district maps, parts of Urbandale fall in six districts: the Urbandale Community School District (most of the Polk County side), the Johnston Community School District (an area on the east side), the West Des Moines Community School District and Des Moines Public Schools (a band just north of Hickman Road), the Waukee Community School District (most of the Dallas County side) and the Dallas Center-Grimes Community School District (areas in the middle and northwest of the city).
Most of Johnston is served by the Johnston Community School District. District lines do not follow city limits, so even in Johnston the district should be confirmed for a specific address.
The overlap is worth noticing: an address on Urbandale's east side and an address in Johnston can sit in the same district. My Urbandale schools page and Johnston schools page name every district with links to the official sources, so you can review the data yourself.
Measured between the two cities' Census internal points, Urbandale and Johnston are about 4.8 miles apart in a straight line. By road, OpenStreetMap routing puts the same trip at about 8 miles and under 20 minutes with no traffic.
Relative to Des Moines, both cities sit about 10 miles from the Des Moines Census point in a straight line. The Census Bureau's American Community Survey puts the mean travel time to work at 18.9 minutes for Urbandale residents and 19.7 minutes for Johnston residents (2020-2024), close to even on average.
Your own commute is what counts. I recommend driving the route you will actually take at the time you will actually take it, from each address on your short list.
The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey gives a direct comparison of the existing housing:
Urbandale has the higher share of owner-occupied units, while Johnston carries the higher median owner-occupied value and the higher median gross rent. These are five-year survey figures that describe the housing already standing, not current list prices. For the neighborhood and price range you are targeting, I pull live MLS data so you are comparing today's homes, not a citywide average.
If you are thinking about house hacking, my Urbandale house hacking guide and Johnston house hacking guide walk through how the numbers work in each city.
Urbandale incorporated on April 16, 1917, and is home to Living History Farms, a 500-acre outdoor museum on Hickman Road with a 1700 Ioway farm, an 1850 pioneer farm, a 1900 horse-powered farm and the 1876 Town of Walnut Hill. The city counts 55-plus parks and more than 50 miles of trails. Walker Johnston Park, at 9000 Douglas Avenue, has a fishing pond, skate park, pickleball courts and a mapped 5K route. The Urbandale Public Library has been in its 56,000-square-foot building on the city campus since 2000, and each Fourth of July a volunteer-run celebration centers on Lions Park with a 2-mile parade.
Johnston anchors its outdoor space at Terra Park, 6400 Pioneer Parkway, which spans more than 200 acres around an eight-acre fishing lake stocked with largemouth bass, channel catfish and bluegill. Its trails tie into the Beaver Creek Natural Resources Area and Crown Point Community Center, and the annual Johnston Green Days celebration fills the park each June. Johnston also has a trailhead on the Neal Smith Trail, a 26-mile path from Des Moines through the Saylorville Lake area to Big Creek State Park. The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum at Camp Dodge offers free admission; a photo ID is required to enter Camp Dodge.
For more, see my Living in Urbandale guide and Living in Johnston guide.
Every Iowa city follows the same budget process, but each city, county and school district adopts its own levy. Under Iowa Code section 24.2A, the county auditor mails each property owner a statement of proposed property taxes by March 15, and each city, county and school district holds a separate public hearing on its proposed property tax amount, where residents and property owners can give testimony. The governing body can decrease, but not increase, the proposed amount at that hearing.
In Urbandale, the taxing districts behind a parcel depend on whether it is on the Dallas or Polk side and which of the six school districts it falls in. In Johnston, the county is always Polk. If the home will be your primary residence, ask the assessor's office about Iowa's homestead exemption. The Iowa Department of Revenue notes that SF 2472, signed May 18, 2026, makes the homestead benefit a homestead tax exemption, and current claimants do not need to refile.
What this means for your strategy: Because Urbandale and Johnston sit so close together, search them as one northwest-metro area and let the district line, commute and home type narrow the list. Compare specific homes on price, property taxes and condition. Investors should test any property in the Deal Calculator with real rent and tax figures before writing an offer.
When you are ready, explore the Urbandale area guide and the Johnston area guide, see how Johnston stacks up against Ankeny in my Ankeny vs. Johnston comparison, or view both on the Central Iowa areas map. If you want a no-pressure look at specific homes in either city, reach out and the Flanders Team at RE/MAX Real Estate Center will put the numbers side by side.
Jackson Krile | Flanders Team | RE/MAX Real Estate Center
515.490.8614 · Jackson@FlandersTeam.com
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