Ames is the largest city in Story County, Iowa, United States.
According to the 2010 census, Ames had a population of 58,965.
The US The Census Bureau recorded a population of 66,427 as of
the 2020 census. The city forms the center of the Ames
Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan area that covers
the entire territory of Story County.
Ames is home to
Iowa State University of Science & Technology, making up about
half of the population students.
Ames is located in central Iowa at the confluence of Squaw Creek and
the South Skunk River, which is part of the Mississippi River Basin via
the Skunk River. This forms the border with Illinois about 270 km to the
east, while the Missouri River forms the border with Nebraska about 220
km to the west. The border of Iowa and Minnesota runs about 180 km to
the north; Missouri's northern border is about 180 km to the south.
The geographical coordinates of Ames are 42°1′38″ north latitude and
93°37′54″ west longitude. The metropolitan area covers an area of 62.86
km2 and is spread over the Washington, Franklin, Grant and Milford
townships.
Neighboring towns of Ames are Gilbert (10.5 km north),
Story City (19.1 km in the same direction), Roland (25 km
north-northeast), Nevada (15.1 km east), Cambridge (22.7 km
south-southeast) , Huxley (16.6 km south), Kelley (12.6 km
south-southwest), Slater (22 km in the same direction), Luther (24 km
west-southwest) and Boone (23.4 km west-northwest).
The nearest
major cities are the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) in Minnesota
(344 km north), Rochester in Minnesota (290 km north-northeast),
Waterloo (157 km east-northeast), Cedar Rapids (167 km east), Iowa's
capital Des Moines (56.2 km south), Kansas City in Missouri (367 km
southsouthwest), Nebraska's largest city Omaha (277 km westsouthwest),
Sioux City (286 km westnorthwest), and South Dakota's largest city Sioux
Falls (424 km northwest).
The north-south Interstate Highway 35, which is the shortest route
from Minneapolis to Des Moines, runs through the eastern part of the
Ames metropolitan area. The also four-lane U.S. Highway 30 runs
west-east through southern Ames. Running parallel to I 35 is the U.S.
Highway 69 through the center of town. All other roads are secondary
country roads, partly unpaved roads and inner-city connecting roads.
City-owned company CyRide operates an eleven-line public bus
network.
A railroad line for the freight traffic of the Union
Pacific Railroad (UP) runs through the Ames area, which runs from the
Mississippi to Omaha. Another line from the same company branches off to
the north.
The Ames Municipal Airport is located 7 km south of
the city center and is a small airfield for general aviation and air
taxi traffic. The nearest commercial airport is Des Moines International
Airport, 40 miles south.
The US Department of Agriculture's National Animal Disease Center is located in Ames. It is also home to the Iowa State Department of Transportation and the US Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, which is also part of Iowa State University. State and federal government agencies are the major local employers. Another big employer is the software company Workiva.
The first evidence of human settlement in the area around the modern
city dates from the Middle Woodland Period. First white settlers came to
Story County in the 1840s.
In 1859 land was secured for the
establishment of an agricultural college, which later became the Iowa
Agricultural College, the nucleus of what later became Iowa State
University.
In 1864, construction of what was then the Cedar
Rapids and Missouri River Railroad at the bridge over the South Skunk
River created a settlement named for Congressman Oakes Ames of
Massachusetts. In the 19th century he had a major influence on the
construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad, which runs through
Ames.
In 1869 Ames was incorporated as a separate municipality.
As of the 2010 census, Ames was home to 58,965 people in 22,759
households. The population density was 938 people per square kilometer.
Statistically, 2.25 people lived in each of the 22,759 households.
The racial makeup of the population was 84.5 percent White, 3.4
percent African American, 0.2 percent Native American, 8.8 percent Asian
and 1.1 percent from other races; 2.0 percent descended from two or more
ethnic groups. Regardless of ethnicity, 3.4 percent of the population
was Hispanic or Latino.
13.4 percent of the population was under
18 years old, 78.5 percent were between 18 and 64 and 8.1 percent were
65 years or older. 47.0 percent of the population were female.
The median annual household income was $42,714. Per capita income was
$23,713. 28.8 percent of the residents lived below the poverty line.
James Wilson (1835-1920) - longtime US Secretary of Agriculture
(1897-1913) - long lived in Ames
Joseph Charles Arthur (1850-1942) -
botanist - studied at Ames
Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) -
suffragette - studied in Ames
Billy Sunday (1862-1935) - athlete and
mass preacher - born in Ames
Albert MacCarthy (1876–1956) -
mountaineer - born and raised in Ames
Gertrude Mary Cox (1900-1978) -
statistician - studied at Ames
Peter Schickele (b. 1935) - musician -
born in Ames
Edward Mezvinsky (b. 1937) - Democratic Member of the US
House of Representatives (1973-1977) - born and raised in Ames
Ted
Kooser (b. 1939) - poet - born and raised in Ames
Thomas J. Barton
(b. 1940) - chemist and university lecturer - lives in Ames
Charles
Dodge (b. 1942) - composer - born and raised in Ames
Gilbert Thomas
Rowe (b. 1942) - ecologist and oceanographer - born in Ames
Richard
Hayward (1946-2010) - rock drummer - born and raised in Ames
Sara
Paretsky (b. 1947) - historian and crime writer - born in Ames
Tom
Latham (b. 1948) - longtime Republican member of the US House of
Representatives (1995-2015) - has lived in Ames for many years
James
Bovard (b. 1956) - bestselling author, teacher and libertarian - born in
Ames
Neal Stephenson (born 1959) - science fiction writer - grew up
mostly in Ames
Jeffrey Dahmer (1960-1994) - serial killer - lived in
Ames for four years as a child
Laurel Clark (1961-2003) - astronaut -
born in Ames
Jane Espenson (b. 1964) - screenwriter and film producer
- was born and raised in Ames
Stephani Victor (born 1969), monoski
bobsleigh rider - born in Ames
John Livingston (b. 1970) - actor -
born in Ames
Fred Hoiberg (b. 1972) - basketball coach - has lived in
Ames for years
Ann Cotten (b. 1982) - German-language writer and
translator - born in Ames
Harrison Barnes (born 1992) - basketball
player - born and raised in Ames
Celia Barquín Arozamena (1996–2018)
– Spanish golfer and European amateur champion – educated at Iowa State
University, murdered in Ames
Joe Burrow (b. 1996) - football player -
born in Ames