Rents are right about where Ames's 10-year trend predicts.
Rent by unit size
These are HUD Fair Market Rents, the payment standard for a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8). They often differ from the $1,240 market median above, and that is expected: FMR is the 40th percentile of standard-quality units and counts gross rent, so it includes essential utilities such as electricity, water, gas, sewer, and trash. The market median is asking rent, which usually excludes utilities. HUD sets FMR once a year; market rent here updates monthly.
Source: HUD Small Area Fair Market Rents. Read the methodology →
12-month history
Last updated: October 17, 2026
What the numbers show
September. Asking rents in Ames usually run 1.3% below trend in September and 1% above it in December, about $29 a month apart at today's median. Based on 9 years of data.
Rent in Ames is 0.8% below its high of $1,250 in June 2026, at $1,240 as of September 2026.
Rent in Ames changed +1.0% over the year to September 2026. Across the 26 Iowa cities Zillow tracks, the typical change was +4.5%.
From 2019 to 2024, rent in Ames rose 20.3% while median household income rose 26.8% ($48,105 to $60,991). Income kept ahead of rent.
Rent in Ames is 25.4% higher than in March 2020. Across the US, rent is up 37.3% over the same stretch.
Rent has fallen 3 months in a row, and rose in 7 of the last 12 months.
30% of the median household income ($60,991) is $1,525 a month. That covers HUD's Fair Market Rent for up to a 2-bedroom ($1,130); a 3-bedroom is $1,580.
Boone, 12 miles away, rents for 34% less ($814/mo), about $5,100 a year in savings.
From Zillow's monthly rent index (ZORI) for Ames. The seasonal pattern compares Zillow’s seasonally adjusted and unadjusted series. Income is the Census median household income (5-year estimates). Fair Market Rents are HUD’s, which include utilities.
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Who lives here
Ames, IA is majority renter-occupied, skews toward younger working-age adults, has a median income below the national average, 65.8% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2024 5-Year Estimates
How Ames, IA has changed in 5 years
Compared with 2021, rent in Ames, IA has climbed by $229 per month, settling near $1,240 after starting the period at $1,011. Median household income grew from $54,339 to $60,991 between 2021 and 2024, a 12.2% shift. Rent outpaced income growth by roughly 10.5 percentage points, which means renters are spending a larger slice of each paycheck on housing than they did in 2021. Headcount in the area went from 65,522 to 67,669 between 2021 and 2024, a 3.3% change. Educational attainment has shifted as well, with the share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher climbed from 61.4% to 65.8%. Taken together, the five-year picture in Ames, IA reflects how housing costs and the people paying them have evolved through a stretch that included a pandemic, a hot rental market, and a recent cooling phase.
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At $1,240/mo, how Ames rent compares to typical pay (30% rule).
Ames rent by bedroom count
Median rent for each apartment size in Ames. Click any size for full breakdown.
Tips for renters in Ames
Last updated: October 17, 2026
The median rent in Ames is $1,240/mo as of October 2026. A studio apartment averages $935/mo while a 2-bedroom runs $1,130/mo. One-bedroom apartments average $1,015/mo and 3-bedroom units go for $1,580/mo.
At 24% of local median household income ($60,991/yr), Ames ranks as affordable compared to the national benchmark of 30%. Rents have increased 1.0% over the past year.
Frequently asked questions
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How does Ames rent compare to other cities in Iowa?
At $1,240/mo, rent takes ~24% of Ames's median household income ($60,991/yr). The standard benchmark is 30%.
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Estimated from ZIP-level data
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