Denver, CO vs Boise City, ID
Moving from Denver to Boise City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $496,288 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Boise City 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 Denver, CO, you'd need about $89,104 in Boise City, ID (−$10,896).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Boise City, ID: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 1,864 sqft in Boise City ($302 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Boise City, ID | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $22,044 | −$876 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,790 | −$289 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,090 | −$960 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,368 | −$420 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,300 | −$1,500 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $10,170 | +$342 |
| Total | $46,464 | $42,761 | −$3,703 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Boise City, ID |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 94.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 3.29% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 13.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 54 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.36 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $496,288 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 0.3% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $268 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,837 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 6.03% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 5.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 12.7 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.70 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 240 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 90 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |