Boise City, ID vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Boise City to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($496,288 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Boise City vs Detroit 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 $104,184 in Detroit, MI (+$4,184).
Livability — Boise City, ID: 68 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,864 sqft in Boise City vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($268 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boise City, ID | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,044 | $18,000 | −$4,044 |
| Groceries | $4,790 | $4,896 | +$107 |
| Transportation | $3,090 | $4,575 | +$1,485 |
| Utilities | $1,368 | $2,316 | +$948 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,300 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $10,170 | $9,547 | −$622 |
| Total | $42,761 | $40,634 | −$2,127 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boise City, ID | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.2 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.29% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 13.9% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 54 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.36 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $496,288 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,837 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.03% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.80% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.59% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,100 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 12.7 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.70 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 90 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 24 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |