Metro area · CBSA 11180
Ames
The Ames, IA metro area has 127,134 people. Median rent is $1,000, 16.4% of median household income, and HUD puts the 2-bedroom fair market rent in Story County at $1,061. Of the 16 places we track here, Maxwell has the lightest rent burden.
Median household income
$73,127
Median home value
$246,300
Unemployment
4.1%
2-bedroom fair market rent
$1,061
HUD, Story County
Places in this metro
Largest first. Rent to income is the median rent as a share of median household income.
| Place | Population | Rent | Rent to income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ames | 67,669 | $1,023 | 20.1% |
| Boone | 12,424 | $831 | 14.4% |
| Nevada | 6,983 | $953 | 15.2% |
| Huxley | 4,544 | $1,393 | 14.9% |
| Story City | 3,398 | $999 | 12.4% |
| Madrid | 2,808 | $1,029 | 13.7% |
| Ogden | 1,859 | $733 | 12.5% |
| Roland | 1,559 | $1,375 | 20.9% |
| Slater | 1,401 | $895 | 11.0% |
| Gilbert | 1,381 | $865 | 8.5% |
| Woodward | 977 | $845 | 15.4% |
| Maxwell | 905 | $650 | 8.0% |
| Cambridge | 803 | $1,043 | 21.8% |
| Colo | 686 | $950 | 17.8% |
| Zearing | 566 | $883 | 14.3% |
| Collins | 533 | $862 | 15.3% |
Nearby metro areas
Data as of 2026-11-14. How these figures are built.