Des Moines / Ames
Ames has 67,669 residents (give or take 39) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US1901855, checked 2026-10-19), about 2,399 people per square mile.
Ames is about 31 miles from the Census center point for Des Moines in a straight line and covers 28.204 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
The quote form takes a ZIP code; for Ames that is 50010, 50012, 50013 (Census 2020 ZCTA to county subdivision and ZCTA to place relationship files, ZIP areas at least 20% inside the town, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_cousub20_natl.txt and https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_place20_natl.txt, checked 2026-10-19).
Median household income in Ames is $60,991 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US1901855, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
38% of Ames homes are single-family detached, 8% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 44% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US1901855, checked 2026-10-19).
With 44% of Ames homes in buildings of five or more units and 38% detached, the condo association usually decides where outdoor units can go, so that approval comes before the quote. With 58% of Ames homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1901855, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Ames has 14 points fewer detached houses than Story County overall (52%) and 12 points more five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 32% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US19169, checked 2026-10-19).
58% of Ames homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1901855, checked 2026-10-19), so the market splits between resident-led jobs where the occupant picks the system and landlord-led jobs where they do not, and the rebate paperwork differs.
Of the 25,785 occupied homes in Ames, 63% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 33% with electricity and 2% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US1901855, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 63% of Ames against electricity at 33%, so most quotes here are a partial-home system that carries the shoulder seasons and the summer while the gas furnace handles the coldest nights, or a whole-home system when the house is ready for it.
Ames has about the Story County oil share of 0% and 4 points more electric heat than the county's 29% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US19169, checked 2026-10-19).
No electric utility is on file for Ames on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
MidAmerican 2026 Instant Discount air source heat pump, run by MidAmerican Energy, is a live program for Iowa addresses and covers qualifying equipment at $1,200 per system (registry row 31 verified 2026-10-14, https://www.midamericanenergy.com/home-discounts-and-rebates, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Ames address before counting it. With 33% of Ames homes already on electric heat and 65% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Ames has 28,041 housing units, 9% built before 1940 and 40% before 1980, with 38% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1901855, checked 2026-10-19).
Ames has 5 points fewer pre-1940 homes than Story County as a whole (14%) and 6 points more homes built after 2000 than the county's 32% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US19169, checked 2026-10-19).
The median Ames home was built in 1992 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US1901855, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 4.9 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US1901855, checked 2026-10-19).
Heating design temperature: -5F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Story County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 37 to 41 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That -5F figure is the Story County cold-day number a Ames heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at -5F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 63% of Ames on gas and 33% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Ames home has 4.9 rooms and was built around 1992, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Ames. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Ames yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.