Baltimore, MD vs Boise City, ID
Moving from Baltimore to Boise City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $496,288 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore vs Boise City at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Baltimore, MD, you'd need about $91,336 in Boise City, ID (−$8,664).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · Boise City, ID: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 1,864 sqft in Boise City ($214 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | Boise City, ID | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $22,044 | −$984 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $4,790 | −$285 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $3,090 | −$595 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $1,368 | −$1,020 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $1,300 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $10,170 | −$1,414 |
| Total | $47,160 | $42,761 | −$4,399 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | Boise City, ID |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 94.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 3.29% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 13.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 54 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $5.36 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $496,288 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 0.3% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $268 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $1,837 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 6.03% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 5.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 12.7 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.70 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 240 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 90 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |