Blog · October 13, 2026 · Iowa
Des Moines County Plat Map: Parcels, Owners and Property Lines
The free official plat map for Des Moines County, how to search it, and what the parcel data does and doesn't tell you about owners, acreage and property lines.
Main page: Des Moines County, IA GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, Des Moines County facts and neighboring maps).
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The Des Moines County plat map turns a drive past an empty field near West Burlington into a name, a parcel number and an acreage figure.
This guide walks through the official link, the kinds of land you'll find around West Burlington, and what to do when the map and the ground don't agree.
Where to find the official Des Moines County plat map
The official map is the Des Moines County parcel viewer. Once parcel lines appear, click any tract near Burlington to see who owns it and how many acres the county records. If the official link ever moves, the Des Moines County page on Platbookmapper keeps the current version.
Are the Des Moines County property lines accurate?
A lot line on the Des Moines County plat map near Danville is a drawing based on deeds, not a measurement taken on site. Rural Des Moines County land sits on the federal survey grid: a deed might call out a quarter of a numbered section in a given township and range. For a fence, an addition or a dispute in Des Moines County, budget for a licensed survey; it's the answer a court or a lender will accept.
Des Moines County at a glance: towns and land
The county seat is Burlington; Danville, Mediapolis, Middletown, and West Burlington are among the other communities you can zoom to. Smaller places such as Augusta, Beaverdale, and Kingston show up as clusters of lots along the roads. The Census Bureau puts Des Moines County at about 416 square miles of land and an estimated 38,253 people (2023). Expect suburban-style lots near Danville and plenty of rural ground once the subdivisions thin out.
Private and public hunting ground in Des Moines County
Near Middletown, a single field edge can separate two owners with very different answers about access; the map tells you which is which. Check the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for public hunting areas and current regulations before you hunt near Mediapolis. A landowner near Augusta is more likely to say yes to a hunter who names the exact parcel and offers a phone number.
Behind the map: land records in Des Moines County
For land near Mediapolis, the parcel record is the index; the recorded deed is the source. Check the county government website to see which office records deeds for land near Augusta. Easements and rights-of-way are usually in recorded documents, not on the parcel map, so read the deed itself for a tract near Augusta.
Who uses the Des Moines County parcel map
The same map serves very different jobs around Danville. For a house near Augusta, the parcel record confirms acreage and shows whether the driveway appears to cross another tract. Site planners working in Danville grab the parcel ID and legal description first, then order a survey for the real dimensions. Unlisted land near Burlington sometimes turns up this way: an empty parcel, an absentee owner, and a polite letter.
Before you rely on the data
If a tract near Middletown changed hands recently, the recorded deed is more current than the map. The acreage on a Middletown record is what the tax roll uses, and a survey can come out different.
Work and land use in Des Moines County
The Census Bureau's County Business Patterns counted 1,057 business establishments in Des Moines County in 2022, and the largest groups were retail trade, health care and social assistance, and other services. What stands out is mining (except oil and gas), nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing, and chemical manufacturing: those sectors make up a much larger slice of local businesses than they do nationally. For land near Burlington, the deed history matters as much as the map: minerals may belong to someone else entirely. That context helps when you read the parcel pattern around Danville: jobs and land use move together.
Quick answers
How can I see my lot lines in Des Moines County?
Pull up the tract on the Des Moines County map, copy its legal description, and compare it with the deed. Exact corners take a surveyor.
Does the Des Moines County parcel map show where I can hunt?
Use it to find the owner of a woodlot near Burlington, then ask; the map itself grants no hunting rights.
Can anyone view Des Moines County parcel data online?
Free. The Des Moines County map is a public record tool, and no sign-up is needed.
How do I look up a property owner in Des Moines County, IA?
Every parcel in the Des Moines County viewer shows an owner of record. Rural tracts near Augusta can be found by panning and clicking.
Open the official Des Moines County, IA parcel map Des Moines County in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey, especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.