2024 population: 129,227 ( 3,981 from 2020)
Land area: 1143.0 square miles
Population density: 113.1 persons per square mile

2024 Census data
White:	108,590	84.03%	2.2%
Black:	3,420	2.65%	12.2%
Indian:	282	0.22%	7.2%
Asian:	8,463	6.55%	5.3%
2+ races:	2,146	1.66%	13.1%
Hispanic:	6,326	4.90%	10.8%

Total non-White:	20,637	15.97%	8.8%

2020-2024 Components	Number	Rate
Births:	4,660	9.3
Deaths:	4,096	8.2
Net Migration:	17	0.0
Net Immigration:	3,327	6.6

Change in White population:	2,304	1.8
Change in Non-White pop.:	1,677	1.3

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

[Display all years]

Year:

Total population:

White:

Black:

Indian:

Asian:

2+ races:

Hispanic:

Total non-White:

2020
125,246
106,286	84.86%
3,048	2.43%
263	0.21%
8,040	6.42%
1,898	1.52%
5,711	4.56%
18,960	15.14%

2010
115,848
103,006	88.91%
2,327	2.01%
206	0.18%
5,476	4.73%
1,504	1.30%
3,200	2.76%
12,842	11.09%

2000
106,205
97,950	92.23%
1,520	1.43%
161	0.15%
4,158	3.92%
878	0.83%
1,456	1.37%
8,255	7.77%

1990
99,438
93,809	94.34%
1,264	1.27%
99	0.10%
3,470	3.49%
n/a
796	0.80%
5,629	5.66%

1980
98,510
95,235	96.68%
947	0.96%
89	0.09%
1,444	1.47%
n/a
636	0.65%
3,275	3.32%

1970
89,253
87,756	98.32%
336	0.38%
42	0.05%
447	0.50%
n/a
440	0.49%
1,497	1.68%

Decade:

Components:

Births:

Deaths:

Net Migration:

Net Immigration:

Change in White population:

Change in Non-White pop.:

Number	Rate
2010's
11,201	9.7
7,430	6.4
-2,641	-2.3
6,347	5.5

3,280	2.8
6,118	5.3

Number	Rate
2000's
11,751	11.1
6,981	6.6
-1,000	-0.9
3,905	3.7

5,056	4.8
4,587	4.3

Number	Rate
1990's
11,603	11.7
7,408	7.4
-1,790	-1.8
1,053	1.1

4,141	4.2
2,626	2.6

Number	Rate
1980's
13,327	13.5
6,871	7.0
-5,964	-6.1
n/a

-1,426	-1.4
2,354	2.4

Number	Rate
1970's
n/a
n/a
2,556	2.9
n/a

7,479	8.4
1,778	2.0

Age, Family & Household Data for Ames, IA Metro Area

[Display all years]

Year:

Median Age:

Under 18:

Voting Age Population:

Over 65:

Households:

Persons Per HH:

Families (%HH):

Married Couples (%Fams):

Single Mothers (%Fams):

Non-Family (%HH):

2024
Number	Percent
30.5
21,888	16.9%
107,339	83.1%
18,599	14.4%

49,840
2.29

25,874	51.9%
21,556	83.3%
1,803	7.0%
23,966	48.1%

2010
Number	Percent
29.9
22,232	19.2%
93,616	80.8%
13,139	11.3%

45,464
2.35

25,627	56.4%
21,166	82.6%
1,900	7.4%
19,837	43.6%

2000
Number	Percent
29.8
21,728	20.5%
84,477	79.5%
12,090	11.4%

39,801
2.40

24,288	61.0%
20,612	84.9%
1,643	6.8%
15,513	39.0%

1990
Number	Percent
28.6
20,914	21.0%
78,524	79.0%
11,664	11.7%

35,827
2.45

23,035	64.3%
20,148	87.5%
1,431	6.2%
12,792	35.7%

1980
Number	Percent
26.6
21,843	22.2%
76,667	77.8%
10,341	10.5%

33,427
2.55

22,907	68.5%
20,732	90.5%
1,126	4.9%
10,520	31.5%

2024 Housing Data for Ames, IA Metro Area

Household Income
Range	Number	%
Less than $10,000	2,336	4.7%
$10,000 to $14,999	1,844	3.7%
$15,000 to $19,999	1,798	3.6%
$20,000 to $24,999	1,749	3.5%
$25,000 to $29,999	1,617	3.2%
$30,000 to $34,999	1,798	3.6%
$35,000 to $39,999	2,064	4.1%
$40,000 to $44,999	1,716	3.4%
$45,000 to $49,999	1,976	4.0%
$50,000 to $59,999	3,350	6.7%
$60,000 to $74,999	5,279	10.6%
$75,000 to $99,999	6,463	13.0%
$100,000 to $124,999	5,203	10.4%
$125,000 to $149,999	3,854	7.7%
$150,000 to $199,999	4,281	8.6%
$200,000 or more	4,512	9.1%

Median Household Income	72,723
Per Capita Income	39,381

Cost of Living Index (100 = average)
Compared to U.S.	92

Welfare Households
	Number	%
SSI	1,553	3.1%
Public Assistance	714	1.4%
Public Asst. or Food Stamps	2,650	5.3%

Labor Force, Ages 25-64
	Number	%
Employed	62,392	73.3%
Unemployed	2,789	3.3%
In Armed Forces	113	0.1%

Total Labor Force	65,294	76.7%
Not in Labor Force	19,797	23.3%

Real Unemployment Rate		26.5%

Class of Worker
	Male	Female	% Male
Private Sector	22,686	17,284	56.8%
Non-Profit	1,881	3,395	35.7%
Self-Employed	3,218	2,383	57.5%

Local Government	1,477	3,273	31.1%
State Government	6,447	5,245	55.1%
Federal Government	953	557	63.1%

Total Private + Self	25,904	19,667	56.8%
Total Non-Profit + Govt.	10,758	12,470	46.3%
Total	36,662	32,137	53.3%

Pct. Govt.	26.1%
Pct. Private + Self	66.2%

Occupation
	Number	%
Management, Business, Science, Arts	9,604	13.9%
Sales and Office Occupations	12,508	18.1%
Professional, Technical	21,408	31.1%
Service Occupations	11,941	17.3%
Farming, Forestry, Fishing	827	1.2%
All others	13,464	19.5%

White Collar		63.1%

Industry
	Number	%
Educational services	14,727	21.4%
Health care and social assistance	8,582	12.5%
Retail trade	7,933	11.5%
Manufacturing	6,602	9.6%
Accommodation and food services	4,679	6.8%
Construction	4,183	6.1%
Professional, scientific, technical	3,763	5.5%
Public administration	2,767	4.0%
Finance and insurance	2,593	3.8%
Other services	2,243	3.3%
Transportation and warehousing	2,168	3.1%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting	2,054	3.0%
Administrative, support, waste mgmt.	1,608	2.3%
Wholesale trade	1,321	1.9%
Arts, entertainment, recreation	1,101	1.6%
Real estate and rental and leasing	984	1.4%
Information	846	1.2%
Utilities	499	0.7%
Mining, quarrying, oil/gas extraction	192	0.3%
Management	80	0.1%

Hispanic Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Mexican	3,541	2.79%
Puerto Rican	415	0.33%
Cuban	168	0.13%
Dominican	48	0.04%

Total Central American	574	0.45%
Costa Rican	25	0.02%
Guatemalan	330	0.26%
Honduran	32	0.03%
Nicaraguan	5	0.00%
Panamanian	49	0.04%
Salvadoran	133	0.10%
Other Central American	0	0.00%

Total South American	406	0.32%
Argentinean	80	0.06%
Bolivian	0	0.00%
Chilean	16	0.01%
Colombian	53	0.04%
Ecuadorian	5	0.00%
Paraguayan	0	0.00%
Peruvian	43	0.03%
Uruguayan	35	0.03%
Venezuelan	174	0.14%
Other South American	0	0.00%

Other Hispanic	815	0.64%

Asian Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Chinese	1,871	1.47%
Indian	1,358	1.07%
Korean	1,059	0.83%
Vietnamese	368	0.29%
Filipino	358	0.28%
Bangladeshi	314	0.25%
Indonesian	102	0.08%
Japanese	77	0.06%
Laotian	67	0.05%

Language Spoken at Home
Language	Number	%
English	110,199	90.7%
Spanish	2,920	2.4%
Other Indo-European	2,553	2.1%
Chinese	1,587	1.3%
Other Asian	952	0.8%
Korean	773	0.6%
Other	657	0.5%
Arabic	444	0.4%
Vietnamese	390	0.3%

Ancestry
Country	Number	%
German	37,984	29.9%
Irish	14,117	11.1%
English	13,704	10.8%
Norwegian	10,077	7.9%
American	4,078	3.2%
Swedish	3,817	3.0%
Dutch	2,933	2.3%
Italian	2,844	2.2%
Danish	2,199	1.7%
Scottish	2,174	1.7%
European	1,868	1.5%
Polish	1,821	1.4%
French	1,732	1.4%
Czech	1,480	1.2%
Scandinavian	1,148	0.9%

Citizenship & Nativity
	Number	%
U.S. citizen	121,438	95.5%
Not a citizen	5,696	4.5%

Native	118,097	92.9%
Foreign-born	9,037	7.1%

Educational Attainment, Population 25 Years and Older
538	0.7%	1,806	2.5%	14,512	20.1%	20,815	28.8%	20,313	28.1%	14,289	19.8%
Average years of education: 14.7

Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years	538	0.7%
9-12 Years	1,806	2.5%
H.S. Grad or GED	14,512	20.1%
Some College	20,815	28.8%
Bach. Degree	20,313	28.1%
Grad Degree	14,289	19.8%
Average years of education: 14.7

Labor Force Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Year	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Unemp. Rate	State Avg.
1990	109,116	104,848	4,268	3.9%
1991	109,510	104,934	4,576	4.2%
1992	113,164	108,932	4,232	3.7%
1993	116,394	112,590	3,804	3.3%
1994	119,242	115,644	3,598	3.0%
1995	118,848	115,426	3,422	2.9%
1996	120,860	117,598	3,262	2.7%
1997	120,232	117,106	3,126	2.6%
1998	120,820	117,756	3,064	2.5%
1999	121,276	118,636	2,640	2.2%

2000	121,914	119,616	2,298	1.9%
2001	122,488	119,716	2,772	2.3%
2002	125,546	122,148	3,398	2.7%
2003	124,096	120,398	3,698	3.0%
2004	123,304	119,470	3,834	3.1%
2005	124,488	120,558	3,930	3.2%
2006	126,600	123,216	3,384	2.7%
2007	127,170	123,476	3,694	2.9%
2008	129,194	124,998	4,196	3.2%
2009	129,566	123,048	6,518	5.0%

2010	135,990	129,724	6,266	4.6%
2011	136,296	130,520	5,776	4.2%
2012	136,346	131,236	5,110	3.7%
2013	139,456	134,592	4,864	3.5%
2014	143,650	139,352	4,298	3.0%
2015	145,506	141,748	3,758	2.6%
2016	144,926	141,422	3,504	2.4%
2017	144,806	141,810	2,996	2.1%
2018	146,366	143,804	2,562	1.8%
2019	147,934	145,034	2,900	2.0%

2020	141,852	136,604	5,248	3.7%
2021	144,968	140,940	4,028	2.8%
2022	149,214	146,134	3,080	2.1%
2023	149,226	145,928	3,298	2.2%
2024	139,150	135,828	3,322	2.4%

Housing Data
	Number	%
Housing Units	53,928
Median Value	$248,362

Occupied	49,840	92.4%
Vacant	4,088	7.6%

Owned	30,348	60.9%
Rented	19,492	39.1%
Median Rent	$979

Single-Family Units	33,684	62.5%
Detached	31,203	57.9%
Attached	2,481	4.6%
Buldings with 5+ Units	14,852	27.5%
Mobile Homes	1,844	3.4%

Ames, IA Metro Area

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

Age, Family & Household Data for Ames, IA Metro Area

2024 Housing Data for Ames, IA Metro Area

2024 Income & Employment Data for Ames, IA Metro Area

2024 Ancestry, Citizenship & Language Data for Ames, IA Metro Area

2024 Educational Attainment Data for Ames, IA Metro Area

Historical Labor Force Data for Ames, IA Metro Area