Boise City, ID vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Boise City to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($496,288 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Boise City vs Seattle 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 $119,616 in Seattle, WA (+$19,616).
Livability — Boise City, ID: 68 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,864 sqft in Boise City vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($268 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boise City, ID | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,044 | $26,784 | +$4,740 |
| Groceries | $4,790 | $5,405 | +$616 |
| Transportation | $3,090 | $4,075 | +$985 |
| Utilities | $1,368 | $1,548 | +$180 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,500 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $10,170 | $8,826 | −$1,343 |
| Total | $42,761 | $48,138 | +$5,377 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boise City, ID | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.2 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.29% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 13.9% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 54 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.36 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $496,288 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,837 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.03% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.80% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.59% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 12.7 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.70 | 4.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 90 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 24 | 37 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |