What it's like to live in Ames
Ames is a smaller city in Iowa with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, unemployment below the national average, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Ames deals with household incomes below the national average, a poverty rate above the national average, cold, harsh winters, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment
- Low crime rates
- Short commutes
- Highly educated workforce
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- High poverty rate
- Cold, harsh winters
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
How Ames compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Ames
Based on Ames's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,046
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $40,920 a year
- 49% of Ames renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$55,480
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $27,740
- Homes cost 4.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 28% below US
$1,023/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $1,023 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $277,400. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.
Median home value $277,400 · 49% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▼ 35% below US
2.8% unemployment
Unemployment here is 2.8%, a little below the national average of 4.3%.
City-level (BLS)
Safety▼ 69% below US
103 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 1267/100k · Ames Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 40% below US
16 min average commute
Commutes run short here, averaging 15.6 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 7 in 10 workers drive to work; 6% take public transit; 12% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 82°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 14°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 4.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▲ 83% above US
66% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a highly educated city, with over half the adult population holding a college degree. That tends to shape the job market and the broader culture, and it's a solid indicator of a strong professional scene.
Schools
8 public schools inside the boundary
There are 8 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Bottom line
Ames's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and a poverty rate above the national average. A year of median rent ($1,023/mo) equals 20% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, job seekers, and anyone prioritizing low crime. It may be a harder fit for anyone who dislikes long, cold winters.
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