Buying Land in Des Moines County, Iowa

Land use structure: a two-mile zoning ring inside a countywide subdivision ordinance

Des Moines County contracts with the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission (SEIRPC) to staff its Land Use Department, housed at SEIRPC's own office in West Burlington. That department administers county planning, zoning and floodplain permits, and subdivision review, and enforces the county's land-use ordinances. The structural quirk worth knowing before you shop for land here: the county's Zoning Ordinance (No. 34) applies only to unincorporated land within a two-mile radius of the City of Burlington's corporate limits -- not a similar ring around West Burlington, and not the unincorporated county as a whole. Outside that ring, unincorporated land is not assigned to any zoning district under this ordinance.

The county's Subdivision Ordinance (No. 29) works differently: it applies to subdivisions of land throughout the unincorporated county, aside from exemptions the ordinance itself lists, with plats submitted to the Land Use Administrator for review by the Zoning Commission (where applicable) and final action by the Board of Supervisors. Iowa's standard two-mile extraterritorial city review layers on top of that where an incorporated city has adopted its own ordinance claiming that authority -- in that case a plat needs sign-off from both the county and the city. Because the zoning-jurisdiction boundary is the single fact most likely to change what's required for a given parcel, and because it's genuinely uncommon among Iowa counties, we cover the mechanics -- including what having no zoning district means in practice for building and use restrictions -- on a dedicated zoning page for this county rather than repeating it in full here.

Wells and septic: Public Health's Environmental Health division

Septic and well permitting in Des Moines County runs through the Environmental Health division of Des Moines County Public Health, not the Land Use Department. The division issues septic permits and private well permits, inspects new and reconstructed septic systems and wells, and offers private well-water testing for coliform bacteria and nitrates along with well-closure or well-alteration reimbursement programs. Reach Public Health at (319) 753-8290 for general questions; route septic- and well-specific applications to the Environmental Health division directly.

Floodplain: a Mississippi River record crest of 25.73 feet, and recurring major flooding

Burlington's setting -- high bluffs directly above the Mississippi River -- makes the county's flood story visually dramatic and, at the river's edge and in its backwater floodplain, genuinely consequential. The Mississippi at Burlington reached a record crest of 25.73 feet in June 2008, more than 10 feet above the river's 16.5-foot moderate flood stage and comfortably past its 18-foot major flood stage threshold. The river returned to major flood stage again in 2019, and the widespread 1993 Midwest flood -- which closed Mississippi River bridges from Davenport downstream to St. Louis for extended periods -- also struck this stretch of river. Des Moines County has recorded roughly 98 flood-related events since 1996 in NOAA's Storm Events Database, split between flash floods and river/area floods.

Floodplain Development Ordinance No. 25 governs development in flood-hazard areas countywide -- it is not limited to the same two-mile ring as the zoning ordinance -- and keeps the county eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program. The Land Use Department administers floodplain permits alongside its zoning and subdivision duties. FEMA's current Flood Insurance Rate Maps for the county show AE zones (1% annual chance of flooding, insurance required) directly along the Mississippi and its backwaters, with shaded-X moderate-risk zones extending further inland. Pull the current FIRM panel for any parcel near the river before assuming its elevation or distance from the main channel is sufficient protection, and confirm floodplain permit requirements directly with the Land Use Department.

Economy, land use, and outdoor recreation

Des Moines County's economy leans more heavily on manufacturing than a typical rural Iowa county -- manufacturing accounts for roughly a quarter of county income, well above the statewide share, with employers including Case (agricultural and construction equipment), Federal-Mogul (spark plugs), GE, Shearer's Foods, and Great River Health anchoring the Burlington-area job base alongside the county's farmland. The county's population has held roughly steady in recent years (38,910 at the 2020 census, an estimated 38,077 in 2025), and Burlington remains the seat with roughly 23,600-24,000 residents. For outdoor and recreational buyers, the county-owned Big Hollow Recreation Area -- a 798-acre park about ten miles north of Burlington with a 178-acre lake, public hunting for deer, turkey, and small game, 63 campsites, and a solar-powered off-grid rental cabin -- is a notable local amenity and land-use anchor distinct from most Iowa counties' conservation holdings.

The county's Secondary Roads Department, run by the County Engineer's office, maintains 642 miles of secondary roads and 103 bridges and issues permits for roadway and right-of-way use; reach that office at (319) 753-8241 for questions about access to a specific rural parcel.