West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, West Des Moines, Iowa

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Business & Industry
Windsor Windows From the early days of the railroad in Valley Junction to the massive interstate highway systems of today, West Des Moines has been an ideal place to locate businesses and industrial services. The city is located at the crossroads of two of the nation’s most important highways, Interstate Highways 35 and 80, linking it to the entire nation and giving West Des Moines excellent access to major concentrations of consumers and industries.
If West Des Moines’ past was built on blue-collar manufacturing jobs, its future is pinned on white-collar professional jobs that command high wages. The city's unemployment rate has always remained below state and national averages and was a low 2.7 percent in 2004.
Today, because of the city’s growth, West Des Moines is a net importer of jobs. West Des Moines enjoys:

A daytime workforce in excess of 47,000, compared with a population of 51,477
25 percent of it's jobs are in the finance, insurance and real estate sectors
A second-largest employment sector of jobs in educational, health and social services
A “medical village” that clusters modern, high-tech medical services

Manufacturing has long been an important part of the city’s employment base, and West Des Moines community leaders are constantly looking for ways to attract more local, national and international industries. Soliciting companies has become a leading goal for the entire city staff as the city continues to invest in the land within its industrial park area.
West Des Moines selling points to manufacturers include:

More than six dozen light industrial companies
A state tax policy which exempts new machinery and equipment from property tax
A state tax policy which exempts manufacturing machinery and equipment from sales and use taxes
No personal property inventory tax
No sales tax on electricity and natural gas used in the manufacturing process
Wage rates that are lower than the national average
A well-educated workforce
Workers’ compensation premium rates that are the 14th lowest in the nation
Iowa’s status as a right-to-work state
The availability of excellent vocational and job training programs.
Des Moines Area Community College training programs such as the Iowa Industrial Jobs Training program and the Iowa Jobs Training program

		Business & Industry From the early days of the railroad in Valley Junction to the massive interstate highway systems of today, West Des Moines has been an ideal place to locate businesses and industrial services. The city is located at the crossroads of two of the nation’s most important highways, Interstate Highways 35 and 80, linking it to the entire nation and giving West Des Moines excellent access to major concentrations of consumers and industries. If West Des Moines’ past was built on blue-collar manufacturing jobs, its future is pinned on white-collar professional jobs that command high wages. The city's unemployment rate has always remained below state and national averages and was a low 2.7 percent in 2004. Today, because of the city’s growth, West Des Moines is a net importer of jobs. West Des Moines enjoys: A daytime workforce in excess of 47,000, compared with a population of 51,477 25 percent of it's jobs are in the finance, insurance and real estate sectors A second-largest employment sector of jobs in educational, health and social services A “medical village” that clusters modern, high-tech medical services Manufacturing has long been an important part of the city’s employment base, and West Des Moines community leaders are constantly looking for ways to attract more local, national and international industries. Soliciting companies has become a leading goal for the entire city staff as the city continues to invest in the land within its industrial park area. West Des Moines selling points to manufacturers include: More than six dozen light industrial companies A state tax policy which exempts new machinery and equipment from property tax A state tax policy which exempts manufacturing machinery and equipment from sales and use taxes No personal property inventory tax No sales tax on electricity and natural gas used in the manufacturing process Wage rates that are lower than the national average A well-educated workforce Workers’ compensation premium rates that are the 14th lowest in the nation Iowa’s status as a right-to-work state The availability of excellent vocational and job training programs. Des Moines Area Community College training programs such as the Iowa Industrial Jobs Training program and the Iowa Jobs Training program