Ames composite
65.6 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Ames vs Sioux City
Ames, IA and Sioux City, IA-NE-SD side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 65.6
- Ames Life Score
- A+
- Ames grade
- 61.0
- Sioux City Life Score
- A-
- Sioux City grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Ames scores higher on 4 (wages, rent, safety, childcare) and Sioux City on 3 (cost of living, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Ames Sioux City ◗
cost of living
82
93
wages
54
35
rent
91
72
safety
81
80
schools
47
49
childcare
66
64
environment
13
14
Ames and Sioux City differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Ames has a cost-of-living index of 88.8 vs Sioux City's 86.5 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $64,722 in Ames and $61,732 in Sioux City. A 2-bedroom averages $1,026/mo vs $1,154/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Ames vs Sioux City Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Ames and Sioux City works out to $1,536 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Ames carries the same local purchasing power as $97,325 in Sioux City - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 238.5 per 100,000 residents in IA vs 238.5 in IA, with property-crime rates of 1286.3 and 1286.3 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: IA lists 1,326 public schools at a 14.1:1 student-teacher ratio, while IA lists 1,326 schools at 14.1:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $8,306/yr in the Ames area versus $8,306/yr in Sioux City - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Ames and Sioux City are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Sioux City composite
61.0 /100
Grade A- · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
2 pts
Sioux City cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
2 pts
Ames safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Ames
Ames composite (Grade A+)
Sioux City
Sioux City composite (Grade A-)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Ames | Sioux City |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 88.8 | 86.5 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 94.0 |
| Services | 83.0 | 82.7 |
| Rents | 69.2 | 57.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Sioux City gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Ames?
$
Equivalent in Sioux City:
$97,325
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Ames: 88.8, Sioux City: 86.5, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Ames | Sioux City |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $783/mo | $796/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $788/mo | $925/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,026/mo | $1,154/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,427/mo | $1,386/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,500/mo | $1,528/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Ames | Sioux City |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $64,722 | $61,732 |
| Total Employment | 48,070 | 69,160 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Ames (IA) | Sioux City (IA) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 238.5 | 238.5 |
| Property Crime | 1286.3 | 1286.3 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | IA | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,326 | 1,326 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 14.1:1 | 14.1:1 |
| Charter Schools | 0.3% | 0.3% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | IA | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $8,306/yr | $8,306/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,157/yr | $7,157/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,157/yr | $7,157/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | IA | IA |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 546 | 546 |
| Water Systems | 1,078 | 1,078 |
| Superfund Sites | 25 | 25 |
| Water Violations | 742 | 742 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Ames | Sioux City |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 42.2 | 39.0 |
| Good Air Days | 67.8% | 79.6% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | N/A | 3 days |
Ames air quality shown at state level. Sioux City has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | IA | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 6/100 | 6/100 |
| Total Violations | 138,271 | 138,271 |
| Health-Based Violations | 27,946 | 27,946 |
| Systems with Violations | 95.2% | 95.2% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | IA | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 56/100 | 56/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 44.1% | 44.1% |
| HPSA Designations | 447 | 447 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | IA | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 77/100 | 77/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 39.7 | 39.7 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 47.9 | 47.9 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ames more expensive than Sioux City? ▼
Ames has a cost of living index of 88.8 compared to Sioux City's 86.5 (national average = 100). Ames is 2.4 points above Sioux City on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Ames and Sioux City? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,026/mo in Ames vs $1,154/mo in Sioux City, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $783/mo to $796/mo.
How do salaries compare between Ames and Sioux City? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $64,722 in Ames and $61,732 in Sioux City, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Ames has the same purchasing power as $97,325 in Sioux City.
Is Ames or Sioux City safer? ▼
At the state level, IA has a violent crime rate of 238.5 per 100,000 residents compared to IA's 238.5 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1286.3 vs 1286.3 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Ames and Sioux City? ▼
IA has 1,326 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.1:1, while IA has 1,326 schools at 14.1:1. Charter schools make up 0.3% of IA schools vs 0.3% in IA. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare