Ames vs Fargo leftover
You'd keep $790 more a month in Fargo
$3,191/mo leftover in Fargo vs $2,401 in Ames after tax and rent ($790 more). +$9,480 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
Fargo leftover
$3,191
+$790 vs Ames
Compare Ames to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Ames.
Monthly gap
Ames → Fargo
$790
more / month in Fargo
$3,191 in Fargo · $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
+$790 / mo
| Per month | Ames | Fargo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,208 | $7,377 | +$1,168 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,332 | $1,530 | +$198 |
| Take-home pay | $4,877 | $5,847 | +$970 |
| Rent | $760 | $885 | +$125 |
| Getting around | $457 | $505 | +$48 |
| Groceries | $347 | $349 | +$2 |
| Healthcare | $391 | $393 | +$2 |
| Utilities | $217 | $218 | +$1 |
| Everything else | $304 | $306 | +$2 |
| Left over | $2,401 | $3,191 | +$790 |
To break even in Fargo, you'd need to earn
$74,500
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
+$1,780
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 21.4% in Ames, 20.7% in Fargo.
More about Fargo
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.
Fargo, ND in full
State income tax topping out at 2.5%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,054 and 193 sunny days; commutes average 18 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Fargo on Fargo wages.
Fargo → Ames →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Fargo than Ames?
A one-bedroom is about $760 in Ames versus $885 in Fargo. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $790 a month higher in Fargo. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Fargo have state income tax?
Fargo is in North Dakota, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Ames to Fargo?
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 Fargo 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.