Overall
- Boise City
- 98.4
Diff -6.7 RPP
Boise City vs Des Moines-West Des Moines
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Des Moines-West Des Moines is 6.8% less expensive than Boise City.
6.8% less expensive
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is 6.8% less expensive than Boise City, ID on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.7 vs 98.4). A $100,000 salary in Boise City buys about the same as $93,201 in Des Moines-West Des Moines; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.4 (Boise City) vs 91.7 (Des Moines-West Des Moines)
- $100k in Boise City ≈ $93,201 purchasing power in Des Moines-West Des Moines
- Rents drives the gap (-20.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ID:IA 98.4→91.7
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE ID × IA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- 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
Diff -2.4 RPP
Services
- Boise City
- 70.7
Diff +13.9 RPP
Rents
- Boise City
- 105.6
Diff -20.8 RPP
| Category | Boise City | Des Moines-West Des Moines | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.4 | 91.7 | -6.7 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.7 | -2.4 |
| Services | 70.7 | 84.6 | +13.9 |
| Rents | 105.6 | 84.7 | -20.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Boise City 98.4
Des Moines-West Des Moines 91.7
Goods
Boise City 96.2
Des Moines-West Des Moines 93.7
Services
Boise City 70.7
Des Moines-West Des Moines 84.6
Rents
Boise City 105.6
Des Moines-West Des Moines 84.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Des Moines-West Des Moines is 20.8 points lower. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is 6.8% less expensive than Boise City, ID, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 6.7-point overall gap.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
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 $93,201 in Des Moines-West Des Moines.
Boise City
98.4
Cost Index
Des Moines-West Des Moines
91.7
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Boise City would need to be in Des Moines-West Des Moines for the same purchasing power:
| In Boise City | In Des Moines-West Des Moines | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,600 | $-3,400 |
| $75,000 | $69,900 | $-5,100 |
| $100,000 | $93,201 | $-6,799 |
| $150,000 | $139,801 | $-10,199 |
$ in Boise City = in Des Moines-West Des Moines
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.4 → 91.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Boise City and Des Moines-West Des Moines share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 0.1 to 6.7 RPP points. Boise City remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 9.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (11.0 to 20.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Boise City RPP | Des Moines-West Des Moines RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.3 | 95.1 | 0.1 points Boise City higher |
| 2012 | 96.7 | 95.5 | 1.2 points Boise City higher |
| 2016 | 93.2 | 94.6 | 1.4 points Des Moines-West Des Moines higher |
| 2020 | 93.6 | 93.8 | 0.2 points Des Moines-West Des Moines higher |
| 2024 | 98.4 | 91.7 | 6.7 points Boise City higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Des Moines-West Des Moines more expensive than Boise City?
Des Moines-West Des Moines is 6.8% less expensive than Boise City. The overall cost index is 91.7 vs 98.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines equals $100K in Boise City?
A $100,000 salary in Boise City has the same purchasing power as $93,201 in Des Moines-West Des Moines. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Boise City and Des Moines-West Des Moines?
Rents in Boise City are indexed at 105.6 while Des Moines-West Des Moines is at 84.7 (national average = 100). Boise City 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.