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Welcome to Ames ...

The city of Ames is located in Story County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Ames, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1866.

When the people of Ames refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Amesite<2>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Ames has a population of 66,505 people<3> (see below for details).

Ames is 910 feet [277 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Ames lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Ames: 515

The ZIP codes for Ames: 50010-50014<5>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Ames had an population of 66,505 people. This is an increase of 12.79% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 31.09% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Ames had a population of 58,965 people (which is 65.77% of the total population of Story County). This makes Ames the county's most populous community.

The population of Ames represents 1.94% of the total population of Iowa (which has 3,046,355 people), making it the state's 8th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 58,965 people, the population of Ames increased 16.23% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 50,731 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Ames.

Communities Also Named Ames ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 17 communities that are also named Ames - they are located in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas (2) and West Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Ames.

Websites for Ames ...

Official Website:   www.city.ames.ia.us/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.chamber.ames.ia.us/

Communities near Ames ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Ames.

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Ames. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Ames.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Ames. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ames.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Ames. Our list includes 22 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Ames.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Ames ...

Looking for more information about Ames? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Ames, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Ames.

Adding Ames to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Ames in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Ames was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>

X2X - From that list, the Ames post office opened in 1866.

We also found Ames in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Ames.

The official website for Ames: www.city.ames.ia.us/

The official website for Story County: www.storycounty.com/

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Story, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Ames refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Ames may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Ames.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Ames - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Ames). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Ames or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Our list of ZIP Codes for Ames includes: 50010, 50011, 50012, 50013 & 50014.
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<8>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025