Boise City, ID vs San Jose, CA
Moving from Boise City to San Jose? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($496,288 → $1,610,466 median home) and taxes.
Boise City vs San Jose 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 $119,964 in San Jose, CA (+$19,964).
Livability — Boise City, ID: 68 · San Jose, CA: 32 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,864 sqft in Boise City vs 466 sqft in San Jose ($268 vs $1074 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boise City, ID | San Jose, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,044 | $43,500 | +$21,456 |
| Groceries | $4,790 | $5,247 | +$457 |
| Transportation | $3,090 | $5,125 | +$2,035 |
| Utilities | $1,368 | $3,804 | +$2,436 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,500 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $10,170 | $25,449 | +$15,280 |
| Total | $42,761 | $84,625 | +$41,864 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boise City, ID | San Jose, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.2 | 113.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.29% | 4.50% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 13.9% | 0.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 54 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.36 | $6.43 |
| Median home price | $496,288 | $1,610,466 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 10.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | -1.4% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $1074 |
| Median rent | $1,837 | $3,625 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.03% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.80% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.59% | 0.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,100 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 12.7 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.70 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 90 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 24 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |