Ames vs Bismarck leftover
You'd keep $933 more a month in Bismarck
$3,334/mo leftover in Bismarck vs $2,401 in Ames after tax and rent ($933 more). +$11,196 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Ames leftover
$2,401
a month after tax and rent
Bismarck leftover
$3,334
+$933 vs Ames
Compare Ames to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Ames.
Monthly gap
Ames → Bismarck
$933
more / month in Bismarck
$3,334 in Bismarck · $2,401 in Ames · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
+$933 / mo
| Per month | Ames | Bismarck | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,208 | $7,914 | +$1,706 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,332 | $1,700 | +$368 |
| Take-home pay | $4,877 | $6,215 | +$1,338 |
| Rent | $760 | $1,084 | +$324 |
| Getting around | $457 | $534 | +$77 |
| Groceries | $347 | $348 | +$1 |
| Healthcare | $391 | $392 | +$1 |
| Utilities | $217 | $218 | +$1 |
| Everything else | $304 | $305 | +$1 |
| Left over | $2,401 | $3,334 | +$933 |
To break even in Bismarck, you'd need to earn
$78,500
Household gross, versus $74,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Ames does now.
The tax difference alone
+$1,654
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 21.4% in Ames, 21.5% in Bismarck.
More about Bismarck
Ames, IA in full
A flat 3.8% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $905 and 207 sunny days; commutes average 19 minutes.
Bismarck, ND in full
State income tax topping out at 2.5%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,290 and 196 sunny days; commutes average 18 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Bismarck on Bismarck wages.
Bismarck → Ames →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Bismarck than Ames?
A one-bedroom is about $760 in Ames versus $1,084 in Bismarck. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $933 a month higher in Bismarck. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Bismarck have state income tax?
Bismarck is in North Dakota, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Ames to Bismarck?
Take-home pay is recalculated under North Dakota tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Ames and Bismarck moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.