Ames is a larger medium-sized city located in the state of Iowa. With a population of 65,686 people and 19 associated neighborhoods, Ames is the ninth largest community in Iowa. Much of the housing stock in Ames was built relatively recently. The construction of new real estate can often be taken as an indication that the local Ames economy is robust, and that jobs or other amenities are attracting an influx of new residents. This seems to be the case in Ames, where the median household income is $60,102.00.

Ames real estate is some of the most expensive in Iowa, although Ames house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.

And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Ames has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.

Also of interest is that Ames has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

A relatively large number of people in Ames telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 11.32% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Ames is also a major college town with a large number of people who are 18 years or older and attending college. As is often the case in college towns, the many students that live in Ames have a strong influence on the local culture and entertainment scene, which may seem dormant by comparison in the summer months when much of the student population is away. In the fall, the return of students has a reinvigorating effect on the community. Because colleges are lasting institutions, they have a stabilizing effect on the economy by providing direct local benefits such as jobs for faculty and staff and spending by students. Ames’s economy is one such example of this.

Not only is Ames a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, creating a decent-sized population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile. This makes it a good choice for other relocating single professionals. Here, these young singles will find many others like themselves, with opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun.

Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 17.22 minutes getting to work every day.

A lot of people in Ames take the bus for their daily commute. For the size of the city, the number of people who use public transportation is quite high. For many people in Ames, this fills their need for low-cost transportation.

If knowledge is power, Ames is a pretty powerful place. 63.52% of the adults in Ames have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Ames in 2022 was $33,314, which is lower middle income relative to Iowa, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $133,256 for a family of four. However, Ames contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Ames is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Ames home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ames residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Ames include German, Irish, English, Norwegian, and Swedish.

The most common language spoken in Ames is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.