Detroit, MI vs Boise City, ID
Moving from Detroit to Boise City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($269,080 → $496,288 median home) and taxes.
Detroit 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 Detroit, MI, you'd need about $95,984 in Boise City, ID (−$4,016).
Livability — Detroit, MI: 62 · Boise City, ID: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,066 sqft in Detroit vs 1,864 sqft in Boise City ($163 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Detroit, MI | Boise City, ID | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $22,044 | +$4,044 |
| Groceries | $4,896 | $4,790 | −$107 |
| Transportation | $4,575 | $3,090 | −$1,485 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,368 | −$948 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,300 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $9,547 | $10,170 | +$623 |
| Total | $40,634 | $42,761 | +$2,127 |
Side by side
| Metric | Detroit, MI | Boise City, ID |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 94.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.60% | 3.29% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 13.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 54 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.36 |
| Median home price | $269,080 | $496,288 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | 0.3% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $268 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,837 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 6.03% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 5.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.43% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.61% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,700 | $1,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.4 | 12.7 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.70 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 240 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 90 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |