Seattle, WA vs Boise City, ID
Moving from Seattle to Boise City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $496,288 median home) and taxes.
Seattle 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 Seattle, WA, you'd need about $83,601 in Boise City, ID (−$16,399).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Boise City, ID: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 1,864 sqft in Boise City ($417 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Boise City, ID | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $22,044 | −$4,740 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,790 | −$616 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,090 | −$985 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,368 | −$180 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $10,170 | +$1,344 |
| Total | $48,138 | $42,761 | −$5,377 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Boise City, ID |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 94.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 3.29% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 13.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 54 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.36 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $496,288 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 0.3% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $268 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,837 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.03% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 5.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 12.7 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.70 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 240 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 90 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |