Real estate · Metro area · Iowa
Real estate agents and brokers in the Ames, IA metro area
The real estate agents and brokers in the Ames, IA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #298 of 387 scored metro areas
#8 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 115
- 5 chain locations (4%)
- Official establishments
- 70
- +29.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $696.7M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $13,978 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 111
- 11% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 23.1
- 25% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 128,090
- +2.2% since 2020
See the real estate agents and brokers around any address in the Ames metro area
The site report maps the real estate agents and brokers on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Ames metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
For real estate agents and brokers, the Ames metro area has a Groundwork market score of 38 (lower middle): #298 of 387 scored metro areas and #8 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in the Ames metro area comes to about $696.7M a year: $13,978 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 11% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate agents and brokers take in.
There are 115 real estate agents and brokers on map listings in the Ames metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 4% of them, against 4% across the U.S. That comes to 23.1 for every 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 30.6.
In 2023, official counts showed 70 businesses with payroll in the Ames metro area classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers, up 29.6% from 2019. That is one for every 712 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $40K has gone to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the Ames metro area. Population estimates show the Ames metro area grew 2.2% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Ames metro area compares
The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Ames metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 23.1 | 20.3 | 30.6 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 111 | 127 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 712 | 1,101 | 788 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +29.6% | +20.8% | +20.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.2% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $13,978 | $14,016 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $73,127 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 38 | 54 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 70+29.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 144
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $7.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1155 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 128The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $40K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the Ames metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Ames metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 128,090+2.2% since 2020
- Households
- 49,840
- Median age
- 35.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,143 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 111
- Median household income
- $73,127+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $97,543
- Median home value
- $246,300
- Jobs located here
- 57,558
- Daytime population
- 130,790Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ames metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate agents and brokers on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Ames metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate agents and brokers across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for real estate agents and brokers, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Ames metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 53 | 127 | 18.3 | 137 | +0.5% | #148 of 387 |
| 2Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 52 | 289 | 17.9 | 142 | −0.9% | #157 of 387 |
| 3Iowa City, IA | 52 | 168 | 23.2 | 113 | +4.1% | #166 of 387 |
| 4Cedar Rapids, IA | 51 | 226 | 19.8 | 132 | +1.0% | #171 of 387 |
| 5Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 45 | 808 | 27.4 | 100 | +6.7% | #236 of 387 |
| 6Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 43 | 133 | 24.0 | 106 | +1.0% | #251 of 387 |
| 7Dubuque, IA | 40 | 94 | 22.9 | 113 | +0.1% | #278 of 387 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 40 | 1,062 | 27.2 | 100 | +4.2% | #280 of 387 |
| 8Ames, IA | 38 | 115 | 23.1 | 111 | +2.2% | #298 of 387 |
Other business types in the Ames metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
- Real estate39
- Real estate agents and brokers38
- Property management24
- Mortgage brokers and lenders71
- Home inspectors
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate agents and brokers are in the Ames, IA metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 115 real estate agents and brokers in the Ames metro area. 5 of them (4%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokerages, commercial brokers included. Official counts show 70 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in 2023, up 29.6% from 2019.
How much do households in the Ames, IA metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $696.7M a year, or $13,978 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 115 real estate agents and brokers on map listings, housing spending per office is 11% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate agents and brokers take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 49,840 households in the Ames metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ames, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate agents and brokers?
The Ames metro area has 23.1 real estate agents and brokers per 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 30.6. The index of housing spending per office is 111, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate agents and brokers to household spending, the Ames metro area would have about 128, against 115 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 712 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. The official count rose 29.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +20.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ames, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Ames metro area at 128,090 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,840 households. Median household income in the Ames metro area is $73,127, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.8%, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Ames metro area scores 38 for real estate agents and brokers (lower middle), #298 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Ames metro area. It maps the real estate agents and brokers on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for real estate agents and brokers · All 56 business types in the Ames metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ames metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Ames metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.