Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medicine colleges. A United States Department of Energy national laboratory, Ames Laboratory, is located on the ISU campus.
In 2020, Ames had a population of 66,427, making it the state's ninth largest city. Iowa State University was home to 33,391 students as of fall 2019, which make up approximately one half of the city's population.
Ames also hosts United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) sites: the largest federal animal disease center in the United States, USDA's Agricultural Research Service's National Animal Disease Center (NADC), as well as, one of two national USDA sites for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which comprises the National Veterinary Services Laboratory and the Center for Veterinary Biologics. Ames also hosts the headquarters for the Iowa Department of Transportation.


Ames is a major center of the state's high-tech industry. The city is home to many companies, including: Hyvex Corporation (formerly known as Iowa Beef Processors), EMC Insurance Companies, Pioneer Hi-Bred International (a subsidiary of DuPont) and Truven Health Analytics. It also hosts several large businesses such as Wells Fargo Advisors and Great Plains Software that have regional offices in Ames but are not based there; they employ over 1,100 people combined in the Des Moines area.

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