Boise City, ID vs Chicago, IL
Moving from Boise City to Chicago? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($496,288 → $353,998 median home) and taxes.
Boise City vs Chicago 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 $108,745 in Chicago, IL (+$8,745).
Livability — Boise City, ID: 68 · Chicago, IL: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,864 sqft in Boise City vs 2,402 sqft in Chicago ($268 vs $208 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boise City, ID | Chicago, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,044 | $27,192 | +$5,148 |
| Groceries | $4,790 | $5,215 | +$426 |
| Transportation | $3,090 | $3,550 | +$460 |
| Utilities | $1,368 | $2,208 | +$840 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,900 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $10,170 | $14,141 | +$3,972 |
| Total | $42,761 | $54,206 | +$11,445 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boise City, ID | Chicago, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.2 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.29% | 6.19% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 13.9% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.36 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $496,288 | $353,998 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | 4.4% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $208 |
| Median rent | $1,837 | $2,266 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.03% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.80% | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.59% | 2.11% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 12.7 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.70 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $205 | $57 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 90 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 24 | 15 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 11.7 | 40.9 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 19.0 | 38.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 61% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |