Overall
- Ames
- 88.8
Diff +0.2 RPP
Ames vs Davenport-Moline-Rock Island
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Davenport-Moline-Rock Island is 0.3% more expensive than Ames.
0.3% more expensive
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL is 0.3% more expensive than Ames, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 89.1 vs 88.8). A $100,000 salary in Ames buys about the same as $100,280 in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 88.8 (Ames) vs 89.1 (Davenport-Moline-Rock Island)
- $100k in Ames ≈ $100,280 purchasing power in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island
- Services drives the gap (+6.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:IA 88.8→89.1
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · IA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Ames
88.8
Cost Index
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island
89.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Ames, IA and Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Davenport-Moline-Rock Island is 6.9 points higher. But rents move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Ames to $100,280 in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Ames
- 93.7
Diff +0.5 RPP
Services
- Ames
- 83.0
Diff +6.9 RPP
Rents
- Ames
- 69.2
Diff -0.8 RPP
| Category | Ames | Davenport-Moline-Rock Island | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.8 | 89.1 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 94.2 | +0.5 |
| Services | 83.0 | 89.9 | +6.9 |
| Rents | 69.2 | 68.3 | -0.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Ames 88.8
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island 89.1
Goods
Ames 93.7
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island 94.2
Services
Ames 83.0
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island 89.9
Rents
Ames 69.2
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island 68.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Ames would need to be in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island for the same purchasing power:
| In Ames | In Davenport-Moline-Rock Island | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,140 | +$140 |
| $75,000 | $75,210 | +$210 |
| $100,000 | $100,280 | +$280 |
| $150,000 | $150,420 | +$420 |
$ in Ames = in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.8 → 89.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Davenport-Moline-Rock Island more expensive than Ames?
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island is 0.3% more expensive than Ames. The overall cost index is 89.1 vs 88.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island equals $100K in Ames?
A $100,000 salary in Ames has the same purchasing power as $100,280 in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Ames and Davenport-Moline-Rock Island?
Rents in Ames are indexed at 69.2 while Davenport-Moline-Rock Island is at 68.3 (national average = 100). Ames has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.