Ames vs Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington

What This Comparison Actually Tells You

The Bureau of Economic Analysis indexes Ames, IA at an overall Regional Price Parity of 88.8 and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD at 102.6, using the U.S. national average of 100 as the reference point. That puts Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 15.4% more expensive than Ames on a blended basket of goods, services, and rents. The raw index gap of 13.7 points matters more than the headline comparison because it flows directly into salary-equivalent math that families use for relocation, job offers, and remote-work arbitrage decisions.

Inside the breakdown, Ames indexes goods at 93.7, services at 83.0, and rents at 69.2, while Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington comes in at 96.8, 114.4, and 113.1 on the same three categories. The rent line carries the largest weight in the BEA methodology, so a metro with a higher rent index almost always ends up more expensive overall - Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington carries the heavier rent load here, and that tends to dominate household budget experience on the ground.

In salary terms, a $100,000 income in Ames has the same purchasing power as $115,450 in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington based on these indexes. The two metros serve populations of roughly 125,261 (Ames) and 6,241,882 (Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington), and median household incomes are $71,090 versus $89,273 respectively - so the right way to read this comparison is never the index alone, but the ratio of your expected local salary to the rent and services mix. For any serious relocation or remote-work decision, pair this BEA comparison with BLS occupation-specific wage data, HUD Fair Market Rent tables, and state tax treatment before committing.