Overall
- Ames
- 88.8
Diff -14.3 RPP
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington vs Ames
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Ames is 13.8% less expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington.
13.8% less expensive
Ames, IA is 13.8% less expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.8 vs 103.1). A $100,000 salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington buys about the same as $86,167 in Ames; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.1 (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington) vs 88.8 (Ames)
- $100k in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ≈ $86,167 purchasing power in Ames
- Rents drives the gap (-48.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:IA 103.1→88.8
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE TX × IA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington would need to be in Ames for the same purchasing power:
| In Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | In Ames | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $43,084 | $-6,916 |
| $75,000 | $64,626 | $-10,374 |
| $100,000 | $86,167 | $-13,833 |
| $150,000 | $129,251 | $-20,749 |
$ in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington = in Ames
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.1 → 88.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX and Ames, IA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 14.3 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is above 100 while Ames is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Ames 48.7 points lower than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington corresponds to $86,167 in Ames.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Ames
- 93.7
Diff -9.1 RPP
Services
- Ames
- 83.0
Diff -7.7 RPP
Rents
- Ames
- 69.2
Diff -48.7 RPP
| Category | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | Ames | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.1 | 88.8 | -14.3 |
| Goods | 102.8 | 93.7 | -9.1 |
| Services | 90.7 | 83.0 | -7.7 |
| Rents | 117.9 | 69.2 | -48.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 103.1
Ames 88.8
Goods
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 102.8
Ames 93.7
Services
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 90.7
Ames 83.0
Rents
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 117.9
Ames 69.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
103.1
Cost Index
Ames
88.8
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and Ames share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 18.9 to 14.3 RPP points. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 21.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (29.0 to 7.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington RPP | Ames RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 101.4 | 82.4 | 18.9 points Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington higher |
| 2012 | 100.8 | 92.3 | 8.5 points Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington higher |
| 2016 | 98.0 | 88.7 | 9.3 points Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington higher |
| 2020 | 104.5 | 93.1 | 11.4 points Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington higher |
| 2024 | 103.1 | 88.8 | 14.3 points Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ames more expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?
Ames is 13.8% less expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington. The overall cost index is 88.8 vs 103.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Ames equals $100K in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?
A $100,000 salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington has the same purchasing power as $86,167 in Ames. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and Ames?
Rents in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington are indexed at 117.9 while Ames is at 69.2 (national average = 100). Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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.