Overall
Diff +0.1 RPP
Duluth vs Ames
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Ames is 0.1% more expensive than Duluth.
0.1% more expensive
Ames, IA is 0.1% more expensive than Duluth, MN-WI on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.8 vs 88.8). A $100,000 salary in Duluth buys about the same as $100,070 in Ames; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 88.8 (Duluth) vs 88.8 (Ames)
- $100k in Duluth ≈ $100,070 purchasing power in Ames
- Services drives the gap (-4.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MN:IA 88.8→88.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MN × 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.
Duluth
88.8
Cost Index
Ames
88.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Duluth, MN-WI and Ames, IA 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: Ames is 4.2 points lower. But services and rents and goods 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 Duluth to $100,070 in Ames, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -1.6 RPP
Services
Diff -4.2 RPP
Rents
Diff -2.0 RPP
| Category | Duluth | Ames | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.8 | 88.8 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 95.3 | 93.7 | -1.6 |
| Services | 87.3 | 83.0 | -4.2 |
| Rents | 71.1 | 69.2 | -2.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Duluth 88.8
Ames 88.8
Goods
Duluth 95.3
Ames 93.7
Services
Duluth 87.3
Ames 83.0
Rents
Duluth 71.1
Ames 69.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Duluth would need to be in Ames for the same purchasing power:
| In Duluth | In Ames | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,035 | +$35 |
| $75,000 | $75,052 | +$52 |
| $100,000 | $100,070 | +$70 |
| $150,000 | $150,105 | +$105 |
$ in Duluth = in Ames
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.8 → 88.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Also Compare
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ames more expensive than Duluth?
Ames is 0.1% more expensive than Duluth. The overall cost index is 88.8 vs 88.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Ames equals $100K in Duluth?
A $100,000 salary in Duluth has the same purchasing power as $100,070 in Ames. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Duluth and Ames?
Rents in Duluth are indexed at 71.1 while Ames is at 69.2 (national average = 100). Duluth 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.