Alexandria → Ames
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Alexandria to Ames is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 85.7 to 88.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $32/mo.
- +$9,447
- BLS median salary higher in Ames
- 410 to 238
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 16.8:1 to 14.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $910
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Ames
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + $9K higher median salary
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - 3% higher cost of living
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 85.7 to 88.8 (ratio 1.04), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent barely moves ($994 → $1,026); the housing line is not the swing factor on this corridor.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Ames sits #15 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Alexandria is #113/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $9,447 higher ($55,275 → $64,722). Labor-market size: 52,940 tracked jobs at origin vs 48,070 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Louisiana 67 (C, #15/51) vs Iowa 70 (B, #8/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 78
- Property tax
- 79
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 8
- Income tax
- 85
- Property tax
- 58
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 42
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Alexandria to see what you'd need to earn in Ames to maintain the same purchasing power.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026