Sumter → Ames

Moving from Sumter to Ames shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 88.0 to 88.8 (100 = US average), so a Sumter salary needs to be multiplied by 1.01 to hold the same purchasing power in Ames. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,276/month in Sumter to $1,026/month in Ames - a lower monthly bill of $250, or $3,000/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.

Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $56,027 in Sumter versus $64,722 in Ames - a raw gap of $8,695 higher. The Ames labor market has 48,070 tracked jobs against 28,110 in Sumter, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.

Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near Sumter and Ames are 439 and 238 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 14.3:1 at origin versus 14.8:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $7,732/year in Sumter versus $8,306/year in Ames. Our composite verdict - Strongly Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.