Overall
Diff -0.2 RPP
Jackson vs Ames
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Ames is 0.2% less expensive than Jackson.
0.2% less expensive
Ames, IA is 0.2% less expensive than Jackson, MS on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.8 vs 89.0). A $100,000 salary in Jackson buys about the same as $99,755 in Ames; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 89.0 (Jackson) vs 88.8 (Ames)
- $100k in Jackson ≈ $99,755 purchasing power in Ames
- Services drives the gap (+4.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MS:IA 89.0→88.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MS × 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.
Jackson
89.0
Cost Index
Ames
88.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Jackson, MS 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 4.9 points higher. But services and 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 Jackson to $99,755 in Ames, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -2.5 RPP
Services
Diff +4.9 RPP
Rents
Diff +4.4 RPP
| Category | Jackson | Ames | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 89.0 | 88.8 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.7 | -2.5 |
| Services | 78.1 | 83.0 | +4.9 |
| Rents | 64.8 | 69.2 | +4.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Jackson 89.0
Ames 88.8
Goods
Jackson 96.2
Ames 93.7
Services
Jackson 78.1
Ames 83.0
Rents
Jackson 64.8
Ames 69.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Jackson would need to be in Ames for the same purchasing power:
| In Jackson | In Ames | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,878 | $-122 |
| $75,000 | $74,816 | $-184 |
| $100,000 | $99,755 | $-245 |
| $150,000 | $149,633 | $-367 |
$ in Jackson = in Ames
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (89.0 → 88.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ames more expensive than Jackson?
Ames is 0.2% less expensive than Jackson. The overall cost index is 88.8 vs 89.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Ames equals $100K in Jackson?
A $100,000 salary in Jackson has the same purchasing power as $99,755 in Ames. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Jackson and Ames?
Rents in Jackson are indexed at 64.8 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.