Indianapolis, IN vs Boise City, ID
Moving from Indianapolis to Boise City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($295,921 → $496,288 median home) and taxes.
Indianapolis 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 Indianapolis, IN, you'd need about $99,571 in Boise City, ID (−$429).
Livability — Indianapolis, IN: 71 · Boise City, ID: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,211 sqft in Indianapolis vs 1,864 sqft in Boise City ($156 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Indianapolis, IN | Boise City, ID | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,636 | $22,044 | +$3,408 |
| Groceries | $4,740 | $4,790 | +$50 |
| Transportation | $3,250 | $3,090 | −$160 |
| Utilities | $1,932 | $1,368 | −$564 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,300 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $7,367 | $10,170 | +$2,803 |
| Total | $37,525 | $42,761 | +$5,236 |
Side by side
| Metric | Indianapolis, IN | Boise City, ID |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 94.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.28% | 3.29% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 13.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.36 |
| Median home price | $295,921 | $496,288 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.3% | 0.3% |
| Price per square foot | $156 | $268 |
| Median rent | $1,553 | $1,837 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 6.03% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.05% | 5.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.20% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.9 | 12.7 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.70 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $102 | $205 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 360 | 240 |
| Avg summer high °F | 86 | 90 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 24 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 11.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 25.5 | 19.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 55% | 61% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |