2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Castle Rock, CO vs Ames, IA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Ames or is it cheaper to live in Castle Rock?
- Ames is 39.0% less expensive than Castle Rock.

Which city has more affordable housing, Ames or Castle Rock?
- Ames housing costs are 57.2% less expensive than Castle Rock housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Castle Rock or is Health Care more affordable in Ames.
- Health related expenses are 45.4% more in Ames.
 Castle Rock, COAmes, IAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock87.6100
 Food & Groceries102.2  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock120.8100
 Housing206.6  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$239,100$338,100
 Utilities97  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock67.2100
 Miscellaneous157.0  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Castle Rock    12 Reviews

My fiance and I moved here in 2018 shortly after finishing college. I work in Colorado Springs and she works in the Denver area, so Castle Rock was practically our only  More

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Over 7 years ago

I have always been mobile for my career, until I moved to Castle Rock. I've lived in in multiple cities in the Midwest including Chicago and have visited nearly every  More

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Over 11 years ago

we have four seasons, and the rockies are only two hrs.away. so for the outdoors enthusist sking or hiking is like no other place you have been or seen it is hard to  More

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Reviews for Ames    12 Reviews

Over 13 years ago

Hello, I am in San Jose Ca, but am seriously thinking of moving somewhere much slower for a better quality of living. I've just turned 59, so I'm kinda preparing for  More

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Over 13 years ago

Like every other city Ames has both good and bad points. The good points are: low cost of living, very friendly people, lots of outdoor activities and quite a few events  More

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Ames enjoys a high quality of life at a very affordable cost, substantially lower than many other communities. The presence of Iowa State University, a large (28,000  More

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