Uprootmap
Ames, IA
$2,950after tax and rent
Photo: Raivena / Wikimedia, CC BY 3.0
On a $83,730 household paycheck in Ames.
Modelled metro
So you know: homicide deaths in Ames are under the US rate in this release, 1.7 versus 6.5 per 100,000. CDC via County Health Rankings, CDC NVSS 2017–2023 (CHR 2025 release).
Move Score
86
Each row is 0–100. The Move Score is their weighted average, rounded, and it stops at 99. Rent is only in Housing. Jobs is off when the paycheck is the same in every city. Schools is off when there are no kids.
The 6 rows that are on. Their weighted average is 86.4, and that is the score, rounded, up to 99. Rows that are off stay out. The percent on each row is its weight. Tap a row to see what it measures. How the score is weighted
Example household
Example: $83,730, same pay in every city · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
These figures are projections built from available public data. Conditions change, and the numbers may not reflect current prices, taxes, or immigration rules. Check official sources before you make decisions.
After tax and rent
$2,950
Home city
Not picked
Salary
$83,730
Same everywhere
Top things to do in Ames
More in Ames
Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain Hilton Coliseum
14,057-seat multi-purpose arena in Ames, Iowa; part of the Iowa State Center at Iowa State University
Photo: Tallness456 / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 Jack Trice Stadium
Football stadium of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa
Stats
- Rent
- $905
- 2 bd median
- Take-home
- $5,426
- Per month
- Tax
- 22%
- Of pay
- Prices
- 13% below
- US, besides rent
Next
$2,950 / mo
The month
One earner. 1 bd.
See full breakdown
- Taxes$1,552
- Rent$760
- Other$1,716
- Left$2,950
Pay and tax, per year
- Gross household pay
- $83,730
- Federal income tax
- −$9,591
- Social Security and Medicare
- −$6,405
- State income tax (IA)
- −$2,627
- Take-home pay
- $65,107
- Effective tax rate
- 22.2%
Living costs, per month
- Rent, 1br
- $760
- Groceries
- $347
- Getting around
- $457
- Healthcare
- $391
- Utilities and internet
- $217
- Everything else
- $304
- Total spending
- $2,476
After tax and rent
$2,950 left/mo
County by county
2 counties. Rent in this table is the Census median of what residents pay. The city figure is Zillow asking rent.
| County | People | Median rent | 2-bed rent | Home value | Income | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Story CountyIA | 99k79% | $1,019 | $1,004 | $243,600 | $69,006 | 18 min |
| Boone CountyIA | 27k21% | $826 | $845 | $191,200 | $79,741 | 22 min |
Census ACS 2023. “—” is not published.
Working remotely
If the paycheck stays the same
One adult, one bedroom, $120,000 held flat in every city. That leaves $4,961 a month here after tax and rent. One-bedroom rent in that math is $760.
- Work from home
- 8.7% of workers
- ACS 2024 1-year
- Home internet
- 68.2% of households
- Cable, fiber optic, or DSL
- Paid to move, remote job
- No open remote grant on this metro
Worked-from-home share is from ACS 2024 1-year. Internet is households with cable, fiber optic, or DSL, from ACS 2023 5-year.
The place
19 min commute. A car per adult.
- Weather
- Not shown for this metro.
- Getting around
- A car per adult
- Average commute
- 19 minutes each way
- Size
- 125k people
- Buying instead
- Median home $231,600. About $1,753/mo with 20% down.
- Taxes
- Iowa income tax is a flat 3.80%. Sales tax 6.9%, property tax 1.44%.
Schools
- Students
- 15,495
- Pupils per teacher
- 14
- Districts
- 11
- Ames Comm School District4,728 students
- Boone Comm School District1,978 students
- Ballard Comm School District1,966 students
- Gilbert Comm School District1,682 students
- Nevada Comm School District1,572 students
NCES 2024-2025. The district count is every public district in the metro. The names are the largest 5.
Compare Ames
Pick a home cityExplore more
Moving from Ames
Take-home by job in Ames
- Registered nurse
- Software developer
- Elementary school teacher
- High school teacher
- Accountant / auditor
- Truck driver (heavy)
- Electrician
- Civil engineer
- Lawyer
- Police officer
- Financial analyst
- Pharmacist
- Product / project manager
- Physical therapist
- Nurse practitioner
- Physician
- Construction manager
- Data scientist
- Firefighter
- Mechanical engineer
Other Iowa metros
- Des Moines, IA
PaycheckHousingCostsDaily lifeKidsMove costCost of livingTake-home
- Davenport, IA
PaycheckHousingCostsDaily lifeKidsMove costCost of livingTake-home
- Cedar Rapids, IA
PaycheckHousingCostsDaily lifeKidsMove costCost of livingTake-home
- Iowa City, IA
PaycheckHousingCostsDaily lifeKidsMove costCost of livingTake-home
- Waterloo, IA
PaycheckHousingCostsDaily lifeKidsMove costCost of livingTake-home
- Sioux City, IA
PaycheckHousingCostsDaily lifeKidsMove costCost of livingTake-home
- Dubuque, IA
PaycheckHousingCostsDaily lifeKidsMove costCost of livingTake-home
Questions
How is take-home pay in Ames calculated?
Ames is in Iowa, which taxes wage income. Take-home is a local salary minus federal tax, payroll tax, and that state tax. Leftover is what remains after rent and bills.
What does rent cost in Ames?
About $760 for a one-bedroom and $905 for a two-bedroom in Ames, IA. Ames averages 207 sunny days, a July high of 82°F, and a 19-minute commute.
How do I compare Ames with another city?
Put Ames next to another city on the same job and household. The gap is the tax bill and the rent.
Also look at
Estimate, not a quote. How we figure this.