Overall
- Ames
- 88.8
- Rapid City
- 89.2
Diff +0.3 RPP
Ames vs Rapid City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Rapid City is 0.4% more expensive than Ames.
0.4% more expensive
Rapid City, SD is 0.4% more expensive than Ames, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 89.2 vs 88.8). A $100,000 salary in Ames buys about the same as $100,371 in Rapid City; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 88.8 (Ames) vs 89.2 (Rapid City)
- $100k in Ames ≈ $100,371 purchasing power in Rapid City
- Services drives the gap (-3.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:SD 88.8→89.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IA × SD
- 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
Rapid City
89.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Ames, IA and Rapid City, SD are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Rapid City is 3.9 points lower. But services 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 $100,371 in Rapid City, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Ames
- 93.7
- Rapid City
- 95.5
Diff +1.7 RPP
Services
- Ames
- 83.0
- Rapid City
- 79.1
Diff -3.9 RPP
Rents
- Ames
- 69.2
- Rapid City
- 72.6
Diff +3.4 RPP
| Category | Ames | Rapid City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.8 | 89.2 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 95.5 | +1.7 |
| Services | 83.0 | 79.1 | -3.9 |
| Rents | 69.2 | 72.6 | +3.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Ames 88.8
Rapid City 89.2
Goods
Ames 93.7
Rapid City 95.5
Services
Ames 83.0
Rapid City 79.1
Rents
Ames 69.2
Rapid City 72.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Ames would need to be in Rapid City for the same purchasing power:
| In Ames | In Rapid City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,186 | +$186 |
| $75,000 | $75,279 | +$279 |
| $100,000 | $100,371 | +$371 |
| $150,000 | $150,557 | +$557 |
$ in Ames = in Rapid City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.8 → 89.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rapid City more expensive than Ames?
Rapid City is 0.4% more expensive than Ames. The overall cost index is 89.2 vs 88.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Rapid City equals $100K in Ames?
A $100,000 salary in Ames has the same purchasing power as $100,371 in Rapid City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Ames and Rapid City?
Rents in Ames are indexed at 69.2 while Rapid City is at 72.6 (national average = 100). Rapid City 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.