Boise City, ID vs Denver, CO
Moving from Boise City to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($496,288 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Boise City vs Denver 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 $112,228 in Denver, CO (+$12,228).
Livability — Boise City, ID: 68 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,864 sqft in Boise City vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($268 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boise City, ID | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,044 | $22,920 | +$876 |
| Groceries | $4,790 | $5,079 | +$289 |
| Transportation | $3,090 | $4,050 | +$960 |
| Utilities | $1,368 | $1,788 | +$420 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,800 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $10,170 | $9,828 | −$342 |
| Total | $42,761 | $46,464 | +$3,703 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boise City, ID | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.2 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.29% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 13.9% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 54 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.36 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $496,288 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,837 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.03% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.80% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.59% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,100 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 12.7 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.70 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 90 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 24 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |