Ames vs Cedar Rapids leftover
You'd keep $735 more a month in Cedar Rapids
$3,136/mo leftover in Cedar Rapids vs $2,401 in Ames after tax and rent ($735 more). +$8,820 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
Cedar Rapids leftover
$3,136
+$735 vs Ames
Compare Ames to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Ames.
Monthly gap
Ames → Cedar Rapids
$735
more / month in Cedar Rapids
$3,136 in Cedar Rapids · $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
In 2022-2023, 72 households moved Ames → Cedar Rapids (avg AGI $40,444). 72 went the other way. The whole move →
+$735 / mo
| Per month | Ames | Cedar Rapids | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,208 | $7,572 | +$1,363 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,332 | $1,788 | +$456 |
| Take-home pay | $4,877 | $5,784 | +$907 |
| Rent | $760 | $904 | +$144 |
| Getting around | $457 | $485 | +$28 |
| Groceries | $347 | $347 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $391 | $391 | $0 |
| Utilities | $217 | $217 | $0 |
| Everything else | $304 | $304 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,401 | $3,136 | +$735 |
To break even in Cedar Rapids, you'd need to earn
$77,500
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
−$622
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 21.4% in Ames, 23.6% in Cedar Rapids.
More about Cedar Rapids
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.
Cedar Rapids, IA in full
A flat 3.8% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,076 and 202 sunny days; commutes average 20 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Cedar Rapids on Cedar Rapids wages.
Cedar Rapids → Ames →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Cedar Rapids than Ames?
A one-bedroom is about $760 in Ames versus $904 in Cedar Rapids. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $735 a month higher in Cedar Rapids. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Cedar Rapids have state income tax?
Cedar Rapids is in Iowa, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Ames to Cedar Rapids?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Iowa 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 Cedar Rapids 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.