Ames, IA vs Ankeny, IA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Ames spends 350.5% more per capita than Ankeny ($34,945/person difference). Ankeny, IA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 61/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $5 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $413 | $527 |
| Income Tax | $648 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $3,359 | $3,337 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,979 | $2,633 |
| Other | $2,187 | $3,353 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $155 | $146 |
| Highways & Roads | $61 | $10 |
| Education | $41 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $3,950 | $957 |
| Health | $765 | $379 |
| Hospitals | $83 | $4 |
| Parks & Recreation | $648 | $1,069 |
| Housing | $1,535 | $2,088 |
| Sewerage | $268 | $313 |
| Utilities | $2,103 | $1,853 |
| Interest on Debt | $1,924 | $0 |
| General Admin | $30,834 | $0 |
| Other | $2,548 | $3,151 |
Compare More Cities
The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.