Demographics of Ames city, Iowa

Ames city, Iowa had 68,220 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: +1,723 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Ames city, in four figures

68,220
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 67,669 ±39.; +2.6%
Change since July 2020: +1,723 people.; 23.3 ±0.3
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $60,991 ±$1,892
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Ames city, Iowa's population grew 2.6% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Ames city, Iowa's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Ames city, Iowa's population grew 2.6% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Ames city, Iowa's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	66,497	100.0	100.0
2021	67,021	100.8	100.2
2022	67,256	101.1	100.7
2023	68,136	102.5	101.6
2024	68,381	102.8	102.5
2025	68,220	102.6	103.1

Population of Ames city, Iowa on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	66,497	—
2021	67,021	+524
2022	67,256	+235
2023	68,136	+880
2024	68,381	+245
2025	68,220	−161

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 23.3 ±0.3: for men 23.0 ±0.3 and for women 23.7 ±0.4. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Ames city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	Iowa	United States
Under 5	1,945 ±237	2.9% ±0.4	5.9% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	5,602 ±417	8.3% ±0.6	17.0% ±0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	29,503 ±1,352	43.6% ±2.0	10.0% ±0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	14,280 ±600	21.1% ±0.9	25.1% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	8,845 ±518	13.1% ±0.8	23.9% ±0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	7,494 ±543	11.1% ±0.8	18.1% ±0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $60,991 ±$1,892, and income per person $34,343 ±$1,343, in 2024 dollars. The median is $75,059 ±$418 in Iowa and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Ames city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	Iowa	United States
Under $25,000	5,122 ±626	19.9% ±2.4	13.9% ±0.2	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	5,605 ±628	21.7% ±2.4	18.5% ±0.3	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	4,691 ±537	18.2% ±2.0	17.5% ±0.3	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	3,131 ±390	12.1% ±1.5	14.0% ±0.3	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	3,369 ±449	13.1% ±1.7	18.7% ±0.3	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	1,782 ±253	6.9% ±1.0	8.8% ±0.2	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	2,085 ±291	8.1% ±1.1	8.6% ±0.2	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Ames city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	Iowa	United States
All ages	14,053 ±1,035	25.5% ±1.9	11.1% ±0.2	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	978 ±242	13.3% ±3.2	12.9% ±0.3	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	12,301 ±958	32.1% ±2.2	11.4% ±0.3	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	774 ±256	8.1% ±2.6	8.8% ±0.2	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Ames city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Ames city	Iowa	United States
Housing units	28,041 ±369	1,437,699 ±523	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	92.0% ±1.5	91.5% ±0.3	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	8.0% ±1.5	8.5% ±0.3	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	42.1% ±1.6	71.7% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	57.9% ±2.1	28.3% ±0.3	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$277,400 ±$9,482	$208,000 ±$1,141	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$1,023 ±$38	$972 ±$6	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1992 ±2	1972 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Ames city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	Iowa	United States
Hispanic or Latino	3,476 ±293	5.1% ±0.4	7.3% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	51,976 ±604	76.8% ±0.9	82.3% ±0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	2,579 ±271	3.8% ±0.4	3.8% ±0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	6,310 ±528	9.3% ±0.8	2.5% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	24 to 100	< 0.1% to 0.1%	0.2% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	12 to 132	< 0.1% to 0.2%	0.2% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	37 to 377	0.1% to 0.6%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	2,987 ±627	4.4% ±0.9	3.5% ±0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Ames city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	Iowa	United States
Born in the state	35,504 ±1,177	52.5% ±1.7	69.6% ±0.2	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	23,347 ±1,206	34.5% ±1.8	23.8% ±0.2	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	937 ±283	1.4% ±0.4	0.7% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	7,881 ±692	11.6% ±1.0	5.9% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	2,637 ±365	3.9% ±0.5	2.6% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	5,244 ±670	7.7% ±1.0	3.3% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

Ames city among the places of Iowa

8th of 86 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the Iowa page.

Places of Iowa near Ames city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Davenport city	100,913 ±50
Sioux City city	86,101 ±29
Iowa City city	75,752 ±43
Ankeny city	72,615 ±64
West Des Moines city	71,083 ±123
Ames city	67,669 ±39
Waterloo city	67,008 ±37
Council Bluffs city	62,586 ±40
Dubuque city	59,174 ±59
Urbandale city	46,595 ±58
Marion city	41,896 ±42

Elsewhere on the site

Reported crime in Ames city, Iowa

Rankings this appears in

No. 1 Places in Iowa by poverty rate
No. 7 Places in Iowa by foreign-born share
No. 14 Places in Iowa by median home value
No. 16 Places in Iowa by median rent
No. 27 Places in Iowa by Hispanic or Latino share
No. 34 Places in Iowa by per capita income

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026