Overall
Diff +0.1 RPP
Ames vs Wichita
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wichita is 0.1% more expensive than Ames.
0.1% more expensive
Wichita, KS is 0.1% more expensive than Ames, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.9 vs 88.8). A $100,000 salary in Ames buys about the same as $100,131 in Wichita; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 88.8 (Ames) vs 88.9 (Wichita)
- $100k in Ames ≈ $100,131 purchasing power in Wichita
- Services drives the gap (+5.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:KS 88.8→88.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IA × KS
- 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
Wichita
88.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Ames, IA and Wichita, KS are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Wichita is 5.5 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 $100,131 in Wichita, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +0.3 RPP
Services
Diff +5.5 RPP
Rents
Diff -2.9 RPP
| Category | Ames | Wichita | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.8 | 88.9 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 94.0 | +0.3 |
| Services | 83.0 | 88.5 | +5.5 |
| Rents | 69.2 | 66.2 | -2.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Ames 88.8
Wichita 88.9
Goods
Ames 93.7
Wichita 94.0
Services
Ames 83.0
Wichita 88.5
Rents
Ames 69.2
Wichita 66.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Ames would need to be in Wichita for the same purchasing power:
| In Ames | In Wichita | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,065 | +$65 |
| $75,000 | $75,098 | +$98 |
| $100,000 | $100,131 | +$131 |
| $150,000 | $150,196 | +$196 |
$ in Ames = in Wichita
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.8 → 88.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wichita more expensive than Ames?
Wichita is 0.1% more expensive than Ames. The overall cost index is 88.9 vs 88.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Wichita equals $100K in Ames?
A $100,000 salary in Ames has the same purchasing power as $100,131 in Wichita. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Ames and Wichita?
Rents in Ames are indexed at 69.2 while Wichita is at 66.2 (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.