Des Moines / Independence
Independence has 6,164 residents (give or take 32) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US1938100, checked 2026-10-19), about 1,023 people per square mile.
Independence is about 107 miles from the Census center point for Des Moines in a straight line and covers 6.028 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
Of the 2,753 occupied homes in Independence, 74% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 21% with electricity and 3% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US1938100, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 74% of Independence against electricity at 21%, so most quotes here are a partial-home system that carries the shoulder seasons and the summer while the gas furnace handles the coldest nights, or a whole-home system when the house is ready for it.
Independence has about the Buchanan County oil share of 0% and 2 points less electric heat than the county's 23% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US19019, checked 2026-10-19).
Independence has 2,906 housing units, 26% built before 1940 and 62% before 1980, with 14% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1938100, checked 2026-10-19).
Independence tracks Buchanan County on housing age, with the county at 24% pre-1940 and 16% post-2000 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US19019, checked 2026-10-19).
The median Independence home was built in 1971 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US1938100, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 6.3 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US1938100, checked 2026-10-19).
73% of Independence homes are single-family detached, 17% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 7% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US1938100, checked 2026-10-19).
With 73% detached houses and 17% in small multi-family buildings, a Independence quote is usually one or two outdoor units with ducted or ductless heads sized room by room. With 28% of Independence homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1938100, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Independence has 10 points fewer detached houses than Buchanan County overall (83%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US19019, checked 2026-10-19).
62% of Independence homes were built before 1980 and only 14% in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1938100, checked 2026-10-19), so most of the stock predates modern insulation codes; the installer's heat-loss calculation, not a square-footage rule, decides the tonnage.
No electric utility is on file for Independence on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
MidAmerican 2026 Instant Discount air source heat pump, run by MidAmerican Energy, is a live program for Iowa addresses and covers qualifying equipment at $1,200 per system (registry row 31 verified 2026-10-14, https://www.midamericanenergy.com/home-discounts-and-rebates, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Independence address before counting it. With 21% of Independence homes already on electric heat and 77% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Median household income in Independence is $73,806 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US1938100, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
Heating design temperature: -6F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Buchanan County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 37 to 41 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That -6F figure is the Buchanan County cold-day number a Independence heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at -6F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 74% of Independence on gas and 21% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Independence home has 6.3 rooms and was built around 1971, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Independence. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Independence yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.