Overall
- Boise City
- 98.4
- Dubuque
- 87.3
Diff -11.1 RPP
Boise City vs Dubuque
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Dubuque is 11.2% less expensive than Boise City.
11.2% less expensive
Dubuque, IA is 11.2% less expensive than Boise City, ID on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.3 vs 98.4). A $100,000 salary in Boise City buys about the same as $88,756 in Dubuque; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.4 (Boise City) vs 87.3 (Dubuque)
- $100k in Boise City ≈ $88,756 purchasing power in Dubuque
- Rents drives the gap (-41.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ID:IA 98.4→87.3
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- 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
- Dubuque
- 93.7
Diff -2.4 RPP
Services
- Boise City
- 70.7
- Dubuque
- 81.2
Diff +10.5 RPP
Rents
- Boise City
- 105.6
- Dubuque
- 64.0
Diff -41.5 RPP
| Category | Boise City | Dubuque | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.4 | 87.3 | -11.1 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.7 | -2.4 |
| Services | 70.7 | 81.2 | +10.5 |
| Rents | 105.6 | 64.0 | -41.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Boise City 98.4
Dubuque 87.3
Goods
Boise City 96.2
Dubuque 93.7
Services
Boise City 70.7
Dubuque 81.2
Rents
Boise City 105.6
Dubuque 64.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Dubuque is 41.5 points lower. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Boise City, ID and Dubuque, IA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 11.1 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
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 $88,756 in Dubuque.
Boise City
98.4
Cost Index
Dubuque
87.3
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Boise City would need to be in Dubuque for the same purchasing power:
| In Boise City | In Dubuque | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $44,378 | $-5,622 |
| $75,000 | $66,567 | $-8,433 |
| $100,000 | $88,756 | $-11,244 |
| $150,000 | $133,134 | $-16,866 |
$ in Boise City = in Dubuque
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.4 → 87.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dubuque more expensive than Boise City?
Dubuque is 11.2% less expensive than Boise City. The overall cost index is 87.3 vs 98.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Dubuque equals $100K in Boise City?
A $100,000 salary in Boise City has the same purchasing power as $88,756 in Dubuque. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Boise City and Dubuque?
Rents in Boise City are indexed at 105.6 while Dubuque is at 64.0 (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.