Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ames vs. Vancouver Cost of Living Summary
Ames is 8.9% cheaper than Vancouver.
Ames vs. Vancouver Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ames instead of Vancouver, you would:
pay 12.3% more for restaurants
|
Vancouver
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.53
CA$24.51
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.52
CA$14.70
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.11
CA$2.94
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.63
CA$2.28
|
$2.31
|
|
Vancouver vs. Ames - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.0% more for groceries
|
Vancouver
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.55
CA$3.56
|
$3.58
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.94
CA$8.31
|
$5.14
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.30
CA$11.60
|
$3.28
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.05
CA$5.66
|
$3.42
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.04
CA$8.44
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.84
CA$2.57
|
$2.63
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.62
CA$0.86
|
$0.83
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
CA$2.44
|
$3.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.83
CA$2.55
|
$2.33
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.21
CA$1.69
|
$2.00
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.29
CA$1.80
|
$1.89
|
|
Vancouver vs. Ames - Cost of groceries
pay 30.4% less for transportation
|
Vancouver
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.30
CA$7.41
|
$3.58
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$82.13
CA$114.79
|
$35.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,760.48
CA$38,799.43
|
$25,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.46
CA$21.61
|
$18.68
|
|
Vancouver vs. Ames - Cost of transportation
pay 27.9% less for housing
|
Vancouver
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$51.61
CA$72.14
|
$71.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,758.64
CA$2,457.96
|
$1,020.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,510.76
CA$2,111.52
|
$822.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$62.39
CA$87.20
|
$136.55
|
|
Vancouver vs. Ames - Cost of housing
pay 50.1% more for childcare
|
Vancouver
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,089.37
CA$1,522.56
|
$1,364.44
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,096.19
CA$28,087.44
|
$36,151.80
|
|
Vancouver vs. Ames - Cost of childcare
pay 15.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Vancouver
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.61
CA$7.84
|
$4.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.95
CA$5.52
|
$5.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$15.43
CA$21.57
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.29
CA$60.50
|
$68.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.39
CA$17.31
|
$16.00
|
|
Vancouver vs. Ames - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.9% more for clothing
|
Vancouver
|
Ames
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.28
CA$80.05
|
$57.94
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.87
CA$45.94
|
$44.06
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.98
CA$131.36
|
$90.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$94.44
CA$131.99
|
$106.02
|
|
Vancouver vs. Ames - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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