Cost Of Living in Ames, NY

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Ames	New York	National
Cost of living	94	117	100
Goods & Services	115	108	100
Groceries	99	102	100
Health care	103	103	100
Housing	56	145	100
Transportation	109	105	100
Utilities	107	100	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Ames is 20% lower than the New York average
The cost of living in Ames is 6% lower than the national average
Ames housing is 44% lower than the national average
New York general sales tax is 22% lower than the national average
New York state income tax is 54% higher than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$93,571	$7,798	$2,183	$2,807
Renters	$0	$0	$0	$0

New York Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
New York	4%	8.875%

New York Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
New York	4%	10.9%

Goods & Services

Item	Ames	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$15.89	$24.26	34.5%
Beauty Salon	$39.00	$45.56	14.4%
Toothpaste	$3.67	$3.70	0.8%
Shampoo	$1.17	$1.28	8.9%
Movie	$11.17	$12.13	7.9%
Bowling	$14.33	$18.00	20.4%

Groceries

Item	Ames	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.84	$5.84	0.1%
Fried Chicken	$1.51	$1.57	4.0%
Milk	$4.80	$4.67	2.8%
Potatoes	$5.11	$4.93	3.5%
Pizza	$12.75	$12.09	5.5%
Beer	$10.36	$10.41	0.5%

Health Care

Item	Ames	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$111.00	$125.68	11.7%
Doctor	$143.15	$135.78	5.4%
Dentist	$118.67	$113.29	4.7%
Ibuprofen	$10.40	$10.65	2.4%
Lipitor	$509.11	$468.60	8.6%

Housing

Item	Ames	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$104,200.00	$184,700.00	43.6%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,404.03	$2,346.69	40.2%
Apartment Rent	$0.00	$949.00	100.0%

Transportation

Item	Ames	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.64	$3.46	5.1%
Tire Balancing	$70.72	$59.92	18.0%

Utilities

Item	Ames	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$215.23	$193.99	10.9%
Phone	$194.79	$192.25	1.3%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Nelliston, NY	691	89	11.4%
Little Falls, NY	4,673	91	9.5%
Fort Plain, NY	1,837	91	9.4%
St. Johnsville, NY	1,866	91	8.8%
Gloversville, NY	14,771	88	12.4%
Ames, NY	177	94	6.4%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Linn Grove, IA	177	77	23.4%
Woden, IA	177	77	23.3%
Gaylord, KS	177	70	29.6%
Prospect, LA	177	95	4.6%
Bay View, MI	177	97	3.4%
Ames, NY	177	94	6.4%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

Cost of Living in Ames, NY