Van Meter, Iowa
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1908 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Van Meter Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50261. It stands on South Raccoon River. The Survey maps it on the Waukee quadrangle. 1,484 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 873 feet above sea level.
On record in Van Meter
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
Robert William Andrew Feller Farmsteadlisted 1999
Population over time
2 figuresVan Meter grew from 1,016 to 1,484 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,016 | |
| 2020 | 1,484 | +468 (+46%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 11 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1908 USGS Waukee quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Waukee quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1969 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
3 since 2012Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Van Meter between 2012 and 2020, burning about 37 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 March 2019 | Debris and open burning | 11 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 12 March 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 9 October 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
9 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Van Meter: 8 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Soto Brick and Tile Works | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Booneville Gravel Co | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Harold Moore | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Wm Spatz | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
39 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Van Meter in 39 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 20 flood, 11 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2015 | Flood | Van Meter | $250,000 | The Raccoon River at Van Meter crested at 17.68 feet at 11:00 PM CST on 15 June. |
| June 2015 | Flood | Van Meter | $250,000 | The South Raccoon River at Redfield crested at 22.65 feet at 3:45 PM CST on 25 June. |
| June 2015 | Flood | Van Meter | $200,000 | The Raccoon River at Van Meter crested at 23.09 feet at 9:30 PM CST on 26 June. |
| June 2008 | Flood | Van Meter | $200,000 | no account filed |
| May 2019 | Flood | Van Meter | $100,000 | The Raccoon River at Van Meter crested at 17.71 feet on 29 May 2019 at 01:45 UTC. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Meter | $75,000 | no account filed |
| December 2015 | Flood | Van Meter | $50,000 | The Raccoon River crested at 19.34 feet on 15 December 2015 at 09:45 UTC. |
| December 2015 | Flood | Van Meter | $50,000 | The Raccoon River crested at 17.72 feet on 18 December 2015 at 16:00 UTC. |
| May 2007 | Flood | Van Meter | $50,000 | no account filed |
| March 2008 | Flood | Van Meter | $30,000 | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Meter | $25,000 | Power lines and poles were down just south of Van Meter near 360th and R Ave. |
| May 2013 | Flood | Van Meter | $25,000 | no account filed |
| March 2010 | Flood | Van Meter | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Flood | Van Meter | $25,000 | no account filed |
| August 2010 | Flood | Van Meter | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Flood | Van Meter | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Van Meter | $15,000 | Hail covered Interstate 80. |
| May 2004 | Hail | Van Meter | $15,000 | no account filed |
| August 2010 | Flood | Van Meter | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Flood | Van Meter | $10,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Van Meter | $10,000 | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Meter | $5,000 | Several 8 inch diameter tree limbs were damaged. Minor tree damage was reported within a block or two radius of this location. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Meter | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Hail | Van Meter | $2,000 | Hail was reported at the Van Meter fire station. |
| April 2009 | Flood | Van Meter | $2,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Van Meter | $2,000 | no account filed |
| October 2007 | Flood | Van Meter | $1,000 | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Hail | Van Meter | $1,000 | no account filed |
| March 2025 | Hail | Van Meter | - | Report from mping. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Van Meter | - | The South Raccoon River at Redfield crested three times during the period of flood. The first two crests and highest crests were due to ice jams, with the third crest from snowmelt and heavy rain. The first crest was 21.52 feet on 14 March 2019 at 00:00 UTC, the second crest was 22.13 feet on 14 March 2019 at 01:15 UTC, and the third crest was 21.16 feet on 14 March 2019 at 17:30 UTC. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Van Meter | - | The Raccoon River at Van Meter crested three times during the flood period. The first crest was 20.08 feet on 15 March 2019 at 00:00 UTC, the second crest was 19.27 feet on 15 March 2019 at 21:00 UTC, and the third crest was 19.11 feet on 17 March 2019 at 08:15 UTC. |
| April 2019 | Hail | Van Meter | - | Trained spotter relayed nickel sized hail near Van Meter. |
| May 2018 | Funnel Cloud | Van Meter | - | Trained spotter reported a funnel cloud in the area. |
| June 2017 | Hail | Van Meter | - | Media relayed public report of baseball sized hail. This is a delayed report via social media. |
| July 2016 | Heavy Rain | Van Meter | - | Mesonet station recorded heavy rainfall of 2.92 inches. |
| May 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Van Meter | - | This brief tornado only damaged trees near the North Raccoon River. |
| May 2013 | Hail | Van Meter | - | no account filed |
| December 2006 | Hail | Van Meter | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Hail | Van Meter | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| De Soto | 2.9 miles | 14 | |
| Booneville | 3.8 miles | 11 | |
| Ortonville | 5.7 miles | 11 | |
| Waukee | 6.6 miles | 11 | |
| Adel | 6.6 miles | 14 | |
| Quarry | 6.7 miles | 14 | |
| Garretville | 6.7 miles | 14 | |
| Midwest Country Estates | 7.2 miles | 11 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Van Meter | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2239911 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 462534. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






