Ames Chamber
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Centrally and conveniently located in the heart of the Midwest and Iowa, along Highway 30 and Interstate 35 in Iowa's Cultivation Corridor, the Ames MSA is known for its healthy, stable economy, flourishing cultural environment, and the world renowned university.

The Ames MSA is an attractive location for new businesses to locate and for existing businesses to expand. World class companies including 3M, Barilla, BASF, Boehringer Ingelheim, Danfoss, Syngenta, and many others are located in Story County. The community's commitment to excellence is contagious.

Home of Iowa State University with student enrollment around 36,500 (ISU, 2018). Ames is vital to the Cultivation Corridor, the Ames-Des Moines Corridor with an estimated population of 764,300.

Demographics
Population
126,282
Total Regional Employment
71,317
Median Household Income
$63.8K
5-yr. population change comparison: Ames MSA +2% vs. Iowa +2% vs. Nation +3%
Population

Population Trend and Forecast

Ames MSA

(Updated 03-06-2024)
 

Population by Age Cohort

Data Sortable by Column (click header)

Age Cohort2017 Population2022 PopulationChange% Change2022 % of Cohort
Under 5 years5,931
5,449
-482
-8%
4.31%
5 to 9 years6,040
5,768
-272
-5%
4.57%
10 to 14 years6,005
6,107
102
2%
4.84%
15 to 19 years13,221
13,741
520
4%
10.88%
20 to 24 years23,011
23,235
224
1%
18.4%
25 to 29 years9,232
8,857
-375
-4%
7.01%
30 to 34 years6,811
7,152
341
5%
5.66%
35 to 39 years6,857
6,573
-284
-4%
5.21%
40 to 44 years5,684
6,745
1,061
19%
5.34%
45 to 49 years5,728
5,689
-39
-1%
4.5%
50 to 54 years5,950
5,550
-400
-7%
4.39%
55 to 59 years6,750
6,005
-745
-11%
4.76%
60 to 64 years6,594
6,620
26
0%
5.24%
65 to 69 years5,380
6,169
789
15%
4.89%
70 to 74 years3,661
4,915
1,254
34%
3.89%
75 to 79 years2,614
3,180
566
22%
2.52%
80 to 84 years1,992
2,129
137
7%
1.69%
85 years and over2,372
2,398
26
1%
1.9%
(Updated 03-06-2024)

Population By Race

(Updated 03-06-2024)

Population by Gender

(Updated 01-08-2024)
27.2% of Ames MSA residents possess a Bachelor's Degree (7.2% above the national average)
Educational Attainment

Iowa State University Degree Completions

Bachelor's Degree
Postbaccalaureate certificate
Master's Degree
Doctor's Degree
(Updated 01-30-2024)
 

Degrees by Program

Description2022 Completions2009-2022 Trend
Total8,554
6K
8.6K
Engineering1,866
1K
1.9K
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services1,437
1.2K
1.4K
Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science And Related Fields867
0.6K
0.9K
Biological and Biomedical Sciences544
0.3K
0.5K
Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services477
0.1K
0.5K
Education425
0.5K
0.4K
Visual and Performing Arts272
0.3K
0.3K
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences271
0.2K
0.3K
Psychology233
0.2K
0.2K

Source: Lightcast

(Updated 03-06-2024)
Industry
Regional GRP
$8.1B
Total Imports
$9.6B
Total Exports
$11.1B
Industry

Industry Characteristics

Data Sortable by Column (click header)

Industry2023 Jobs2022 Average Earnings Per Worker2023 LQ (Industry Concentration)2018-2023 % Change in Jobs2022 GRP
Government
25,927
$67,609
2.73
-4.23%1897.21M
Retail Trade
7,683
$34,545
1.01
3.47%473.24M
Manufacturing
5,942
$86,254
1.12
3.31%1213.37M
Health Care and Social Assistance
5,901
$64,245
0.63
-4.36%406.78M
Accommodation and Food Services
5,187
$22,302
0.88
-4.16%195.78M
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
4,517
$83,948
0.72
9.44%427.89M
Construction
4,212
$68,407
0.9
3.04%367.98M
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
4,140
$51,666
0.86
33.64%260.91M
Other Services (except Public Administration)
3,333
$33,897
0.72
-2.02%124.53M
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
3,206
$64,280
2.28
12.06%345.4M
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
3,041
$39,331
0.6
18.39%148.8M
Finance and Insurance
2,781
$64,854
0.53
24.77%324.03M
Transportation and Warehousing
2,098
$50,026
0.45
18.5%138.74M
Wholesale Trade
1,771
$94,507
0.66
8.34%395.2M
Information
1,221
$66,049
0.79
-6.13%216.57M
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
1,210
$16,723
0.68
-17.34%31.18M
Educational Services
971
$24,790
0.5
10.22%24.66M
Management of Companies and Enterprises
821
$212,755
0.7
11.71%187.82M
Utilities
206
$135,180
0.86
-6.26%127.92M
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
143
$93,165
0.34
42.14%34.65M
(Updated 03-06-2024)
Workforce & Employment
Payrolled Business Locations
3,611
Historical 5-year Job Growth (2017-2022)
-.2%
Projected 5-year Job Growth (2023-2027)
6.1%
Avg. Earnings Per Job
$67,553
Employers competing in the region who posted for a job over the last 12 months
1,817
Number of unique postings for a particular job over the last 12 months
12,453
Median job posting duration is the same as what's typical in the Ames MSA region
28 days

Jobs Trend and Forecast

Ames MSA

(Updated 03-06-2024)

Job Growth Comparison

5-Yr. Change

Region2017 Jobs2022 JobsChange% Change
Region67,06266,835-227
0%
Iowa1,627,5951,619,849-7,746
0%
United States152,127,974157,796,3515,668,377
4%
(Updated 01-30-2024)
Job Postings

Job Postings 5-Year Trend

5-Year Trend

(Updated 03-06-2024)
 

Job Postings 30-Day Trend

30-day Year over Year Trend

(Updated 03-06-2024)
 

Job Postings by Industry

30-day % change (Hover to Display Values)

Industry Sector (2-Digit)Latest 30 Days Unique PostingsLatest 30 Days Unique Postings % Change
Educational Services384
12.2%
Health Care and Social Assistance357
10.1%
Retail Trade354
3.4%
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services347
21.6%
Manufacturing235
10.2%
Accommodation and Food Services203
0%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services170
4.1%
Public Administration134
20.9%
Construction117
23.1%
Wholesale Trade109
3.7%
Other Services (except Public Administration)80
16.3%
Transportation and Warehousing72
-6.9%
Utilities69
30.4%
Finance and Insurance61
14.8%
Information50
2%
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing40
10%
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation32
18.8%
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting19
42.1%
Management of Companies and Enterprises11
9.1%
(Updated 03-06-2024)
 

Top 20 Companies

CompanyLatest 30 Days Unique PostingsLatest 30 Days Unique Postings % Change
Iowa State University281
15.3%
Mcfarland Clinic Pc68
11.8%
Mary Greeley Medical Center59
1.7%
City Of Ames58
39.7%
State Of Iowa48
27.1%
ChildServe38
10.5%
Workiva38
5.3%
Walmart34
17.6%
Fareway Stores33
-48.5%
Iowa Department of Administrative Services31
25.8%
Hy-Vee30
3.3%
Ames Community School District26
-7.7%
Boone County Hospital19
-10.5%
Danfoss19
5.3%
Boone Community School District18
22.2%
Grifols18
-5.6%
Story Construction18
22.2%
Texas Roadhouse18
33.3%
United States Department of Agriculture18
27.8%
Accura Healthcare16
25%
(Updated 03-06-2024)
Labor Force & Unemployment

Unemployment and Labor Force Participation Rates

Hover to display values

Unemployment Rate
Labor Force Participation Rate
0%20%40%60%80%
2018
1.7%
71.4%
2019
1.9%
71.7%
2020
3.7%
67.5%
2021
2.8%
67.9%
2022
2.1%
69.9%
January-August 2023
2.3%
68.8%
September 2023
2.4%
69.6%
October 2023
2.6%
69.3%
November 2023
2.3%
68.7%
December 2023
1.9%
67.6%
(Updated 03-06-2024)
Workforce

Occupation Concentration

Data Sortable by Column (click header)

Occupation2023 Jobs2023 Median Salary2023 Average Hourly Wage2023 LQ (Occupation Concentration)2018-2023 % Change in Jobs
Sales and Related
8,811
$32,774
$29.76
0.89
5.76%
Office and Administrative Support
8,757
$40,122
$20.82
0.97
-5.02%
Management
8,200
$74,613
$44.35
1.08
19.87%
Educational Instruction and Library
7,731
$53,880
$30.99
1.94
-7.97%
Business and Financial Operations
5,757
$65,207
$39.74
0.87
25.7%
Food Preparation and Serving Related
5,468
$26,881
$13.68
1.02
-5.85%
Transportation and Material Moving
4,659
$36,608
$20.48
0.68
8.36%
Production
4,071
$39,382
$20.69
1.05
-15.11%
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
3,830
$63,747
$40.92
0.93
11.56%
Construction and Extraction
3,675
$48,469
$25.7
1
-1.37%
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
3,002
$48,786
$25
1
3.32%
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
2,908
$31,878
$17.12
1
-2.64%
Personal Care and Service
2,652
$28,184
$18
0.94
-15.55%
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
2,443
$45,881
$28.79
0.94
4.67%
Healthcare Support
2,375
$34,861
$17.91
0.72
0.96%
Computer and Mathematical
2,337
$81,412
$41.83
1.01
0.53%
Life, Physical, and Social Science
1,985
$60,239
$33.95
2.61
5.79%
Architecture and Engineering
1,514
$78,770
$39.68
1.31
21.03%
Community and Social Service
1,512
$49,422
$24.94
1.2
4.49%
Protective Service
1,049
$57,070
$26.46
0.71
13.85%
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
992
$30,579
$18.5
1.75
19.08%
Legal
291
$76,772
$51.18
0.43
20%
Military-only
232
$60,168
$31.17
0.61
11.3%
(Updated 03-06-2024)
Job Postings vs. Hires

Top Hard Skills Companies Are Looking For

Ames, IA

SkillFrequency in Job PostingsFrequency in CandidatesSkill Gap
Merchandising
5%
2%
-3%
Marketing
4%
7%
3%
Nursing
4%
1%
-3%
Cash Register
4%
1%
-3%
Balancing (Ledger/Billing)
3%
0%
-3%
Food Safety And Sanitation
3%
1%
-2%
Project Management
3%
6%
3%
Construction
3%
1%
-2%
Accounting
3%
3%
0%
Housekeeping
3%
0%
-3%
Inventory Management
3%
2%
-1%
Auditing
2%
2%
0%
Data Analysis
2%
4%
2%
Machinery
2%
0%
-2%
Agriculture
2%
2%
0%
Hand Tools
2%
0%
-2%
Finance
2%
2%
0%
Biology
2%
1%
-1%
Cash Handling
2%
0%
-2%
Invoicing
2%
1%
-1%
(Updated 03-06-2024)

Jobs by Age

(Updated 01-30-2024)

Jobs by Race

(Updated 01-30-2024)

Jobs by Gender

(Updated 01-30-2024)
Location Advantages & Quality Of Life
Well Being & Happiness

Top 10 States for Happy Living

Lower Score is Better (Ranked 1-50)

(Updated 05-30-2023)
Housing

Home Values

Hover to display values

A smoothed, seasonally adjusted measure of the typical home value and market changes across a given region and housing type. Reflects the typical value for homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range.

(Updated 03-06-2024)

Data


SOURCES

  • Lightcast, Zillow, American Community Survey, Porch.com