Car Insurance in Ankeny: Priced Between Two Neighbors

Ankeny added roughly 7,500 people between the 2024 special census and where the count sits now, enough to push its population past 79,000 and knock West Des Moines out of the top suburb spot in the metro. Car insurance in Ankeny hasn't chased that growth to the top of the price list, though. At $98.58 a month, it sits below West Des Moines and above Des Moines proper — a middle-of-the-pack number for a city that stopped being middle-of-the-pack in just about every other way.

The Situation: A Suburb That Outgrew Its Neighbors

In 2020, Ankeny had 68,659 residents. The city's 2024 special census put that number at 76,207, and current estimates run closer to 79,782 — a 16% jump in under six years. That kind of growth is rare for a Midwest city, and it's why Ankeny now edges out West Des Moines as the largest suburb in the metro, and ranks among the fastest-growing cities in Iowa.

Most of that growth clusters around Prairie Trail, the mixed-use district built on the old Alliant Energy plant site, and the corridor near the Des Moines Area Community College main campus. Fareway's corporate headquarters and Corteva's agriscience research campus sit inside city limits too, which is part of why median household income here runs $108,198 — higher than West Des Moines' $86,594 and well above the Des Moines figure.

The Complication: Growth Brings Its Own Claims

A wealthier, newer-car city usually means pricier comprehensive and collision coverage, since those pay out based on what a vehicle costs to fix, not just how likely a crash is. Ankeny adds two more local factors on top of that. The city sees a severe hail event roughly every two to three years — June 2023 was the most recent — and comprehensive claims from that kind of storm ripple through renewal pricing for a while afterward.

Deer strikes are the quieter problem. They cluster along Oralabor Road and in the stretches near Big Creek Lake northeast of town, and I-35 running straight through the middle of the city adds a steady stream of multi-vehicle accidents, some involving the commercial trucks that use the interstate as a Des Moines bypass. None of that is unique to Ankeny. It's just what comes with being a growing city built around a highway corridor instead of a quiet cul-de-sac.

The Resolution: What Ankeny Drivers Actually Pay

Against that state floor, Ankeny's $98.58 monthly average splits into a wide range by carrier. Safeco has quoted the cheapest local rates at around $51.68 a month. State Farm runs closer to $81.64, and IMT Insurance Company — a familiar name across Iowa suburbs — lands near $90.56. Drivers who are currently uninsured and shopping for a first policy tend to see lower quotes, around $85.76 a month, than drivers switching from an existing policy, who average closer to $135.67.

• Comprehensive coverage matters here: hail and deer strikes both fall under comprehensive, not liability, so dropping it to save money leaves the most likely local claims uncovered.
• The carrier spread is real money: the gap between Safeco and IMT's averages runs close to $40 a month, or nearly $470 a year.
• DMACC students and new movers should shop before switching: quotes for drivers without a current policy have run noticeably lower than renewal quotes locally.

Anyone deciding whether the state minimum is enough for a newer Ankeny vehicle can run the numbers in our minimum vs. full coverage guide.

The Takeaway: Growth Didn't Make Ankeny the Expensive One

Ankeny passed West Des Moines in population without passing it in price. That's the number worth remembering here: a city can add 16% of its population in six years, build out a research campus and a mixed-use downtown, and still land below its more established neighbor on what it costs to insure a car. Check a quote against the $98.58 average before you renew — with a spread this wide between carriers, there's a real chance you're paying for last year's Ankeny, not the one that just became the biggest suburb in the metro.