Overall
- Ames
- 88.8
- Weirton-Steubenville
- 89.0
Diff +0.2 RPP
Ames vs Weirton-Steubenville
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Weirton-Steubenville is 0.2% more expensive than Ames.
0.2% more expensive
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH is 0.2% more expensive than Ames, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 89.0 vs 88.8). A $100,000 salary in Ames buys about the same as $100,218 in Weirton-Steubenville; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 88.8 (Ames) vs 89.0 (Weirton-Steubenville)
- $100k in Ames ≈ $100,218 purchasing power in Weirton-Steubenville
- Rents drives the gap (-16.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:WV 88.8→89.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IA × WV
- 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
Weirton-Steubenville
89.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Ames, IA and Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH 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.
Rents creates the largest separation: Weirton-Steubenville is 16.8 points lower. 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 housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Ames corresponds to $100,218 in Weirton-Steubenville.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Ames
- 93.7
- Weirton-Steubenville
- 96.4
Diff +2.7 RPP
Services
- Ames
- 83.0
- Weirton-Steubenville
- 95.0
Diff +12.0 RPP
Rents
- Ames
- 69.2
- Weirton-Steubenville
- 52.4
Diff -16.8 RPP
| Category | Ames | Weirton-Steubenville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.8 | 89.0 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 96.4 | +2.7 |
| Services | 83.0 | 95.0 | +12.0 |
| Rents | 69.2 | 52.4 | -16.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Ames 88.8
Weirton-Steubenville 89.0
Goods
Ames 93.7
Weirton-Steubenville 96.4
Services
Ames 83.0
Weirton-Steubenville 95.0
Rents
Ames 69.2
Weirton-Steubenville 52.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Ames and Weirton-Steubenville share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 5.7 to 0.2 RPP points. Weirton-Steubenville remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Goods changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 19.1 points between the first and latest shared releases (21.8 to 2.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Ames RPP | Weirton-Steubenville RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 82.4 | 88.1 | 5.7 points Weirton-Steubenville higher |
| 2012 | 92.3 | 88.7 | 3.6 points Ames higher |
| 2016 | 88.7 | 87.9 | 0.8 points Ames higher |
| 2020 | 93.1 | 86.8 | 6.3 points Ames higher |
| 2024 | 88.8 | 89.0 | 0.2 points Weirton-Steubenville higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Ames would need to be in Weirton-Steubenville for the same purchasing power:
| In Ames | In Weirton-Steubenville | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,109 | +$109 |
| $75,000 | $75,164 | +$164 |
| $100,000 | $100,218 | +$218 |
| $150,000 | $150,328 | +$328 |
$ in Ames = in Weirton-Steubenville
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.8 → 89.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Weirton-Steubenville more expensive than Ames?
Weirton-Steubenville is 0.2% more expensive than Ames. The overall cost index is 89.0 vs 88.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Weirton-Steubenville equals $100K in Ames?
A $100,000 salary in Ames has the same purchasing power as $100,218 in Weirton-Steubenville. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Ames and Weirton-Steubenville?
Rents in Ames are indexed at 69.2 while Weirton-Steubenville is at 52.4 (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.