Urbandale is a city in Polk and Dallas counties in the U.S. state of Iowa.

In its early days, Urbandale served as a streetcar suburb of Des Moines with four coal mines.

Its population in 1950 was 1,777, but the city grew rapidly after that along with the rest of Des Moines' suburbs.

In 2012, President Barack Obama held a reelection campaign rally at Living History Farms in Urbandale.

[5] Urbandale is located in the northwest part of the Des Moines Metro Area at the intersections of Interstates 35 and 80, and Iowa Highway 141.

As of the 2010 United States Census[10] there were 39,463 people, 15,596 households, and 10,815 families living in the city.

25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

While Urbandale is primarily a residential city, other development has increased in recent years, particularly in the business parks located inside the Urban Loop.

Businesses in the Urban Loop have high freeway visibility and traffic counts which continue to fuel the rapid growth of this area.

[12] Unofficially, the name Rider Corner was used locally to define the ninety-degree bend in the 35/80 interstate system that runs through Urbandale.

Some local media outlets have not discontinued use of the name Rider Corner.

[13] Urbandale is the home of Living History Farms, where Pope John Paul II spoke to a crowd estimated at 350,000 on October 4, 1979, and the Buccaneer Arena, home to the Des Moines Buccaneers hockey team.