Overall
- Ames
- 88.8
Diff -0.2 RPP
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island vs Ames
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Ames is 0.3% less expensive than Davenport-Moline-Rock Island.
0.3% less expensive
Ames, IA is 0.3% less expensive than Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.8 vs 89.1). A $100,000 salary in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island buys about the same as $99,720 in Ames; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 89.1 (Davenport-Moline-Rock Island) vs 88.8 (Ames)
- $100k in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island ≈ $99,720 purchasing power in Ames
- Services drives the gap (-6.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:IA 89.1→88.8
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · IA
- 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.
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island
89.1
Cost Index
Ames
88.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL and Ames, IA 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.
Services creates the largest separation: Ames is 6.9 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island to $99,720 in Ames, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Ames
- 93.7
Diff -0.5 RPP
Services
- Ames
- 83.0
Diff -6.9 RPP
Rents
- Ames
- 69.2
Diff +0.8 RPP
| Category | Davenport-Moline-Rock Island | Ames | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 89.1 | 88.8 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 94.2 | 93.7 | -0.5 |
| Services | 89.9 | 83.0 | -6.9 |
| Rents | 68.3 | 69.2 | +0.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island 89.1
Ames 88.8
Goods
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island 94.2
Ames 93.7
Services
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island 89.9
Ames 83.0
Rents
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island 68.3
Ames 69.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island would need to be in Ames for the same purchasing power:
| In Davenport-Moline-Rock Island | In Ames | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,860 | $-140 |
| $75,000 | $74,790 | $-210 |
| $100,000 | $99,720 | $-280 |
| $150,000 | $149,581 | $-419 |
$ in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island = in Ames
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (89.1 → 88.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ames more expensive than Davenport-Moline-Rock Island?
Ames is 0.3% less expensive than Davenport-Moline-Rock Island. The overall cost index is 88.8 vs 89.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Ames equals $100K in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island?
A $100,000 salary in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island has the same purchasing power as $99,720 in Ames. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Davenport-Moline-Rock Island and Ames?
Rents in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island are indexed at 68.3 while Ames is at 69.2 (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.