Metro Life Score
Ames, IA
Top-5% composite Life Score — grade A+, 98th percentile of the national corpus.
- 65.6
- Life Score / 100
- A+
- Grade (curved)
- #6
- of 387 metros
- 98%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Ames is top-5% composite Life Score — #6 of 387 (65.6/100, grade A+, 98th percentile). Carried by rent at 91/100; held back most by environment at 13/100.
- 98th
- composite percentile
- #6
- of 387 peers
- 81st
- cost dimension percentile
- 54th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · BALANCED · signature composite
Ames: top-third composite Life Score
Ames clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#6 of 387, 65.6/100, grade A+, 98th percentile). Stamps TOP · BALANCED; cost CHEAP (81st) · wages MID (54th). Rent at 91/100 carries the lead; Environment (13/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Ames, IA ranks #6 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #72 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 88.8 (rent-RPP 69.2). BLS median salary $64,722, 48,070 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,026/mo (studio $783).
FBI UCR (IA): 238 violent, 1286 property/100K. NCES: 14.1:1 ratio, 0.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,306/yr. EPA: 25 Superfund sites (IA).
Where Ames sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
66 Top 2% higher than 98% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 65.6 is built
Ames's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Ames scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are IA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Ames With...
Ranking Context
Ames outranks 98% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #3 | St. Cloud, MN | 65.9 | A+ |
| #4 | Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 66.0 | A+ |
| #5 | Wildwood-The Villages, FL | 67.0 | A+ |
| #6 | Ames, IA | 65.6 | A+ |
| #7 | Charleston, WV | 65.3 | A+ |
| #8 | Lexington-Fayette, KY | 64.9 | A+ |
| #9 | Elizabethtown, KY | 64.7 | A+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Ames, IA is top 2% highest-quality nationally but only top 19% most affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
IA Metro Scores
Read with Ames
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Ames (TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Charleston, WV
ABS(composite) peer at 65.3 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
St. Cloud, MN
ABS(composite) peer at 65.9 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
ABS(composite) peer at 66.0 (Δ 0.4 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Lexington-Fayette, KY
ABS(composite) peer at 64.9 (Δ 0.7 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Mansfield, OH (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 81/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Topeka, KS (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 82/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Ames, IA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Ames's top-third Life Score
Ames scores 65.6/100 overall, but Rent (91.5) and Environment (12.7) sit 78.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Ames's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Environment is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Cedar Rapids is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Cedar Rapids
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.