Ames is a larger medium-sized city located in the state of Iowa. With a population of 66,950 people and 19 associated neighborhoods, Ames is the ninth largest community in Iowa.

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.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 10.18% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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.

In addition, Ames is a major college town that has a very high percentage of its residents over 18 years old who are college students. Naturally, collegiate life has a major influence on local Ames culture, lifestyle and entertainment options. Ames really pulses to the beat of the academic calendar. In Ames every fall, returning students reinvigorate the community, who you will notice are all over town, buying groceries, out with friends, and getting acquainted or re-acquainted with each other and Ames. One of the beneficial effects that colleges provide is that they tend to be lasting institutions that deliver direct economic benefits to the local economy in the form of such things as jobs for faculty and staff, and spending by students. Ames benefits directly from 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 very large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile. That’s because Ames is full of single people in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting careers in professional occupations. This makes Ames a pretty good place for young, educated career starters looking to find many people like themselves, with good opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Ames spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 16.84 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.

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.

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Ames. 62.77% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.

The per capita income in Ames in 2022 was $31,050, 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 $124,200 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.