Ames, Iowa

Population

Growing. Up 2.6% since 2020.

68,220

people, the 8th-largest of Iowa's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Iowa's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

7 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

65.9%

of 37,056 jobs located in Ames are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Unemployment, 2026

The low came in April: 2.2%.

2.8%

in August 2026, the latest month released. A year earlier it was 3.1%.

BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, monthly, through August 2026. Not seasonally adjusted, so compare with the same month a year earlier. Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

Rent

Median rent is up 41% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,023

a month. Iowa's median is $972.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent jumps $414.

A $414 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Story County.

• $812 Tract 3
• $1,226 Tract 1.02

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.

$1,149–$1,723

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,023 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

62% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 2,809 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 71% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 62% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 1% to the 28,041 homes here.

164–371

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 33% more than Iowa's.

$277,400

median home value in Ames.

• $277,400 Ames
• $208,000 Iowa
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year