Boise City, ID vs Virginia Beach, VA
Moving from Boise City to Virginia Beach? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($496,288 → $373,678 median home) and taxes.
Boise City vs Virginia Beach 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 $103,690 in Virginia Beach, VA (+$3,690).
Livability — Boise City, ID: 68 · Virginia Beach, VA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,864 sqft in Boise City vs 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach ($268 vs $187 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boise City, ID | Virginia Beach, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,044 | $22,344 | +$300 |
| Groceries | $4,790 | $4,853 | +$63 |
| Transportation | $3,090 | $3,080 | −$10 |
| Utilities | $1,368 | $1,872 | +$504 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,500 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $10,170 | $10,303 | +$133 |
| Total | $42,761 | $43,952 | +$1,190 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boise City, ID | Virginia Beach, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.2 | 97.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.29% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 13.9% | 4.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.36 | $5.56 |
| Median home price | $496,288 | $373,678 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $187 |
| Median rent | $1,837 | $1,862 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.03% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.80% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.59% | 0.86% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 12.7 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.70 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $205 | $103 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 90 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 24 | 28 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 11.7 | 49.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 19.0 | 6.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 61% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |