What is the cost of living in Boise City?

Boise City has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 98.4, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 105.6, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,655/month.

What is the median salary in Boise City?

The median salary in Boise City is $67,378 annually (mean: $70,747). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.

How safe is Boise City?

The violent crime rate in the Boise City area is 235 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 754 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Boise City?

The state of ID has 778 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.1:1. Charter schools make up 9.8% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Boise City?

Infant center-based childcare in the Boise City area averages $7,315 per year. Preschool averages $6,437/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Boise City a good place to relocate?

Boise City has a Life Score of 55.9/100 (C-), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Boise City sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Boise City ranks #317 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Boise City, ID

LiveAbility 40.7/100 places Boise City #317 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

98.4
Cost index (US=100): $1,655
2BR rent / mo: $67,378
Median salary: 40.7
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Boise City ranks #317 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (40.7/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and safety.

#317
of 387 US metros · Below median: 2,001,619
metro-area population: 235
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 778
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (2/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Boise City ranks #317 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 98.4 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,655/mo, median salary $67,378; LiveAbility Score 40.7/100, strongest in low hazard and safety.

Signature: LiveAbility 40.7/100 places Boise City #317 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 98.4 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,655/mo.

LiveAbility 40.7/100 puts Boise City in the bottom third (#317 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Boise City area is 377,880.

Boise City vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

41 Top 82% higher than 18% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Boise City housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Boise City MSA; housing RPP 105.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,655/mo.

Studio

$1,170

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,381

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,655

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,318

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,772

/month

Boise City wages and employment

Boise City posts 377,880 total employment with median salary $67,378 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$67,378

Mean Salary

$70,747

Total Employment

377,880

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,660
General and Operations Managers	$83,680
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$35,850
Customer Service Representatives	$46,640
Retail Salespersons	$35,670

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Boise City area from NCES.

Schools

778

Enrollment

315,098

Student:Teacher

17.1:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Boise City area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,315

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,002

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,437

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Boise City's composite Life Score is 55.9/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

26/100

Weak

Wages

58/100

Above average

Rent

23/100

Weak

Crime

75/100

Strong

Schools

65/100

Strong

Childcare

88/100

Elite

Environment

90/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Boise City ranks #317 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 40.7/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Low hazard (94/100)

Low hazard

94
Safety

75
Job market

58
Schools

36
Cost of living

26
Housing

23
Air quality

10
Climate

2

What this shows Boise City's strongest dimensions are low hazard and safety; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 2/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Boise City to

Bend Billings Binghamton Birmingham Bismarck Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford

Metros near Boise City on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Boise City on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Boise City cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Boise City wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Boise City?

Boise City runs a $67,378 median salary at a 98.4 cost index, ranking #317 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Boise City's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Boise City head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Boise City
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.