Overall
- Boise City
- 98.4
- Bozeman
- 102.5
Diff +4.1 RPP
Boise City vs Bozeman
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Bozeman is 4.2% more expensive than Boise City.
4.2% more expensive
Bozeman, MT is 4.2% more expensive than Boise City, ID on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 102.5 vs 98.4). A $100,000 salary in Boise City buys about the same as $104,186 in Bozeman; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.4 (Boise City) vs 102.5 (Bozeman)
- $100k in Boise City ≈ $104,186 purchasing power in Bozeman
- Rents drives the gap (+33.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ID:MT 98.4→102.5
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE ID × MT
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Boise City
- 96.2
- Bozeman
- 96.0
Diff -0.2 RPP
Services
- Boise City
- 70.7
- Bozeman
- 73.6
Diff +2.9 RPP
Rents
- Boise City
- 105.6
- Bozeman
- 139.2
Diff +33.6 RPP
| Category | Boise City | Bozeman | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.4 | 102.5 | +4.1 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 96.0 | -0.2 |
| Services | 70.7 | 73.6 | +2.9 |
| Rents | 105.6 | 139.2 | +33.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Boise City 98.4
Bozeman 102.5
Goods
Boise City 96.2
Bozeman 96.0
Services
Boise City 70.7
Bozeman 73.6
Rents
Boise City 105.6
Bozeman 139.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Bozeman is 33.6 points higher. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Bozeman, MT is 4.2% more expensive than Boise City, ID, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 4.1-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Bozeman is above 100 while Boise City is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Boise City corresponds to $104,186 in Bozeman.
Boise City
98.4
Cost Index
Bozeman
102.5
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Boise City would need to be in Bozeman for the same purchasing power:
| In Boise City | In Bozeman | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $52,093 | +$2,093 |
| $75,000 | $78,140 | +$3,140 |
| $100,000 | $104,186 | +$4,186 |
| $150,000 | $156,280 | +$6,280 |
$ in Boise City = in Bozeman
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.4 → 102.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bozeman more expensive than Boise City?
Bozeman is 4.2% more expensive than Boise City. The overall cost index is 102.5 vs 98.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Bozeman equals $100K in Boise City?
A $100,000 salary in Boise City has the same purchasing power as $104,186 in Bozeman. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Boise City and Bozeman?
Rents in Boise City are indexed at 105.6 while Bozeman is at 139.2 (national average = 100). Bozeman has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.