Boise City, ID vs Austin, TX
Moving from Boise City to Austin? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($496,288 → $428,524 median home) and taxes.
Boise City vs Austin 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 Boise City, ID, you'd need about $104,278 in Austin, TX (+$4,278).
Livability — Boise City, ID: 68 · Austin, TX: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,864 sqft in Boise City vs 2,450 sqft in Austin ($268 vs $204 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boise City, ID | Austin, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,044 | $19,620 | −$2,424 |
| Groceries | $4,790 | $4,647 | −$143 |
| Transportation | $3,090 | $3,675 | +$585 |
| Utilities | $1,368 | $1,836 | +$468 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $3,600 | +$2,300 |
| Taxes | $10,170 | $9,558 | −$611 |
| Total | $42,761 | $42,936 | +$174 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boise City, ID | Austin, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.2 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.29% | 4.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 13.9% | 14.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 54 | 52 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.36 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $496,288 | $428,524 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | -6.0% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $204 |
| Median rent | $1,837 | $1,635 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.03% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.80% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.59% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,100 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 12.7 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.70 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 90 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 24 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |