How to Meet People From Des Moines, Washington if You Don't Live There
Des Moines, Washington has about 33,000 people and is the 40th largest city in Washington. If your own town is much smaller, the people you'd like to meet from Des Moines are probably not the ones a distance-sorted dating app shows you first.
Des Moines in numbers
| Population (2025 estimate) | 33,032 |
|---|---|
| County | King County |
| Change since 2020 | +0.3% |
| Size rank in Washington | 40 of 281 cities and towns |
| Larger than | 86% of Washington's cities and towns |
| Smaller places within 60 miles | 70 (582,000 people combined) |
| Nearest other city of 25,000 or more (OR, ID, WA, MT) | SeaTac, WA: 4 miles |
Population estimates by year:
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32,890 | 32,686 | 32,405 | 32,637 | 32,906 | 33,032 |
Why small-town members lose out in Des Moines on the big apps
A city of about 33,000 can fill a dating deck without looking past its own limits, and a distance-ranked app does exactly that: Tinuiti's analysis of Tinder's algorithm says proximity is a key factor in who it shows you. People in the smaller places around Des Moines, such as Normandy Park (3 miles away) or Tukwila (6 miles away), tend to be shown late in the deck, if at all. That's why small-town members so often feel invisible in the nearest city.
Smaller places within reach of Des Moines
These are 10 of the smaller places near Des Moines, all within 60 miles. If you live in one of them, a dating app that sorts by distance builds your deck from your own town first, and Des Moines comes much later.
- Normandy Park, WA: 6,609 people, 3 miles away
- Tukwila, WA: 22,003 people, 6 miles away
- Algona, WA: 3,253 people, 8 miles away
- Pacific, WA: 7,056 people, 9 miles away
- Milton, WA: 8,911 people, 9 miles away
- Covington, WA: 21,496 people, 10 miles away
- Edgewood, WA: 13,548 people, 11 miles away
- Fife, WA: 11,061 people, 11 miles away
- Ruston, WA: 1,052 people, 11 miles away
- Sumner, WA: 10,871 people, 12 miles away
Browse every city and town in Washington.
Other places in King County
King County has 38 incorporated places with 2,130,612 people between them. Nearby places in the county include:
- Normandy Park: 6,609 people, 3 miles away
- SeaTac: 34,578 people, 4 miles away
- Kent: 134,871 people, 5 miles away
- Federal Way: 99,729 people, 5 miles away
- Burien: 51,859 people, 6 miles away
- Tukwila: 22,003 people, 6 miles away
- Auburn: 86,301 people, 8 miles away
- Algona: 3,253 people, 8 miles away
How region-based dating changes it
Amarbis lets you choose the region you meet people from, so you're choosing a pool, not a distance, and ranking isn't based on distance. Pick Washington and Des Moines is in it. There are no distance limits, so you can look beyond Washington too.
Meeting someone from Des Moines when you live elsewhere
- Join free and message first. A conversation costs nothing; decide about the trip later.
- Keep the first meeting simple: when you live close, a coffee or a walk is enough, and when you don't, a lunch or an afternoon makes the drive worth it.
- If you're both travelling, meet partway so neither of you does all the driving, and read the guide to meeting safely.
Every profile on Amarbis is reviewed by a real person, and joining is free: 25 likes a day, unlimited messaging with matches, no credit card. Create your profile.
More from Amarbis
- Why Amarbis is the best dating app for small towns
- Singles in the United States
- International dating guide
- Overcoming language barriers in love
- Meeting someone safely for the first time
- Plans and pricing
Population figures are U.S. Census Bureau estimates for July 1, 2025. Distances are straight-line miles between place center points, so road distances are longer. Counts of nearby places include incorporated cities and towns in Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Montana only.