Welcome to Van Meter ...
The city of Van Meter is located in Dallas County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Van Meter, you might consider that their post office opened in 1870.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Van Meter has a population of 1,296 people<2> (see below for details).
Van Meter is 910 feet [277 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Van Meter lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Van Meter is within the (515) area code.
The ZIP code for Van Meter: 50261<4>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Van Meter had an population of 1,296 people. This is an increase of 27.56% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 49.65% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Van Meter had a population of 1,016 people. This makes Van Meter the county's 8th most populous community.
The population of Van Meter represents 0.03% of the total population of Iowa (which has 3,046,355 people), making it the state's 279th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 1,016 people, the population of Van Meter increased 17.32% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 866 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Van Meter.
Communities Also Named Van Meter ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 3 communities that are also named Van Meter - they are located in Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Van Meter.
Communities near Van Meter ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Van Meter.
- Des Moines
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Des Moines
- Des Moines is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 212,312 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Des Moines <5>
- West Des Moines
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Des Moines have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Des Moines
- West Des Moines is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69,057 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Des Moines <5>
- Urbandale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Urbandale have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbandale
- Urbandale is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44,650 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Urbandale <5>
- Waukee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waukee
- Waukee is located in Dallas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,166 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waukee <5>
- Johnston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnston have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston
- Johnston is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,092 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnston <5>
- Clive
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clive have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clive
- Clive is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,444 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clive <5>
- Grimes
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grimes
- Grimes is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,831 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grimes <5>
- Norwalk
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwalk have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
- Norwalk is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,449 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <5>
- Adel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adel have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adel
- Adel is located in Dallas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,607 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adel <5>
- Winterset
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterset
- Winterset is located in Madison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,428 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winterset <5>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Van Meter. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Van Meter.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Van Meter. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Van Meter.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Van Meter. See our Newspapers Page for Van Meter.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Van Meter ...
Looking for more information about Van Meter? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Van Meter, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Van Meter.
Adding Van Meter to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Van Meter in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Van Meter was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Van Meter post office opened in 1870.
We also found Van Meter in the book titled Sixth Biennial Report of the State Mine Inspectors, Two Years Ending June 30, 1893.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Van Meter.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Van Meter. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Dallas County: www.co.dallas.ia.us/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Dallas, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Van Meter. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Van Meter - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Van Meter). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Van Meter or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |