Moving from Ames to Waterloo
Ames to Waterloo: $349 more leftover
$2,750/mo leftover in Waterloo vs $2,401 in Ames after tax and rent ($349 more). +$4,188 a year — not a moving-company quote.
Ames leftover
$2,401
a month after tax and rent
Waterloo leftover
$2,750
+$349 vs Ames
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
Leftover is not a cost-of-living index. Leftover vs a COL index
Who already made this move
In 2022-2023, 45 households moved Ames → Waterloo (about 61 people, average AGI $42,378). 48 households went the other way.
Source: IRS SOI county-to-county migration. Not a moving company; not a recommendation.
| Per month | Ames | Waterloo |
|---|---|---|
| Take-home | $4,877 | $5,307 |
| Rent | $760 | $788 |
| All other costs | $1,716 | $1,769 |
| Left over | $2,401 | $2,750 |
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 Waterloo 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.
Full line-by-line comparison →
What the move itself costs
About 86 road miles, 1 bedroom. Typical ranges, not quotes.
- Full-service mover
- $1,600–$3,000
- Container or pod
- $1,100–$2,050
- Rent a truck
- $400–$700
Other moves from Ames
Dig into Waterloo
Paycheck
Take-home pay after tax and rent, and what's left at the end of the month.
Who moved
Which metros people actually left and arrived from, according to IRS tax returns.
Rent vs buy
Asking rent, the median home, property tax, and months to a down payment.
Monthly costs
Groceries, getting around, utilities, healthcare and childcare at your household size.
Daily life
Homicide and firearm death rates, heat, cars and commute.
Kids
Public-school enrollment, pupil–teacher ratio, bedrooms and childcare.
Getting there
Typical cost to get here, then leftover after tax and rent — not a moving-company directory.
Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Waterloo than Ames?
A one-bedroom is about $760 in Ames versus $788 in Waterloo. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $349 a month higher in Waterloo. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Waterloo have state income tax?
Waterloo is in Iowa, which taxes wage income.
Did people actually move from Ames to Waterloo?
When IRS county-to-county data covers this pair, the page lists how many households made the Ames → Waterloo move and their average AGI. Leftover after tax and rent is shown for the same household on both sides.