Boise City, ID vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Boise City to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($496,288 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Boise City vs St. Louis 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 $100,774 in St. Louis, MO (+$774).
Livability — Boise City, ID: 68 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,864 sqft in Boise City vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($268 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boise City, ID | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,044 | $17,412 | −$4,632 |
| Groceries | $4,790 | $4,934 | +$145 |
| Transportation | $3,090 | $3,390 | +$300 |
| Utilities | $1,368 | $1,512 | +$144 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,400 | +$1,100 |
| Taxes | $10,170 | $10,488 | +$319 |
| Total | $42,761 | $40,136 | −$2,625 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boise City, ID | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.2 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.29% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 13.9% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 54 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.36 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $496,288 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,837 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.03% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.80% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.59% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,100 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 12.7 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.70 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 90 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 24 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |