Ames, IA vs West Des Moines, IA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Ames spends 203.9% more per capita than West Des Moines ($30,136/person difference). West Des Moines, IA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 53/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $5 | $24 |
| Sales Tax | $413 | $677 |
| Income Tax | $648 | $355 |
| Intergovernmental | $3,359 | $16,920 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,979 | $2,669 |
| Other | $2,187 | $3,239 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $155 | $240 |
| Highways & Roads | $61 | $49 |
| Education | $41 | $3 |
| Public Welfare | $3,950 | $1,500 |
| Health | $765 | $615 |
| Hospitals | $83 | $290 |
| Parks & Recreation | $648 | $1,257 |
| Housing | $1,535 | $2,213 |
| Sewerage | $268 | $194 |
| Utilities | $2,103 | $669 |
| Interest on Debt | $1,924 | $0 |
| General Admin | $30,834 | $0 |
| Other | $2,548 | $7,750 |
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.