Overall
- Boise City
- 98.4
- Hot Springs
- 85.7
Diff -12.7 RPP
Boise City vs Hot Springs
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Hot Springs is 12.9% less expensive than Boise City.
12.9% less expensive
Hot Springs, AR is 12.9% less expensive than Boise City, ID on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.7 vs 98.4). A $100,000 salary in Boise City buys about the same as $87,132 in Hot Springs; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.4 (Boise City) vs 85.7 (Hot Springs)
- $100k in Boise City ≈ $87,132 purchasing power in Hot Springs
- Rents drives the gap (-48.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ID:AR 98.4→85.7
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE ID × AR
- 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
- Hot Springs
- 93.6
Diff -2.6 RPP
Services
- Boise City
- 70.7
- Hot Springs
- 74.3
Diff +3.6 RPP
Rents
- Boise City
- 105.6
- Hot Springs
- 57.3
Diff -48.3 RPP
| Category | Boise City | Hot Springs | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.4 | 85.7 | -12.7 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.6 | -2.6 |
| Services | 70.7 | 74.3 | +3.6 |
| Rents | 105.6 | 57.3 | -48.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Boise City 98.4
Hot Springs 85.7
Goods
Boise City 96.2
Hot Springs 93.6
Services
Boise City 70.7
Hot Springs 74.3
Rents
Boise City 105.6
Hot Springs 57.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Hot Springs is 48.3 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 Hot Springs, AR sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 12.7 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 $87,132 in Hot Springs.
Boise City
98.4
Cost Index
Hot Springs
85.7
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Boise City would need to be in Hot Springs for the same purchasing power:
| In Boise City | In Hot Springs | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $43,566 | $-6,434 |
| $75,000 | $65,349 | $-9,651 |
| $100,000 | $87,132 | $-12,868 |
| $150,000 | $130,698 | $-19,302 |
$ in Boise City = in Hot Springs
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.4 → 85.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hot Springs more expensive than Boise City?
Hot Springs is 12.9% less expensive than Boise City. The overall cost index is 85.7 vs 98.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Hot Springs equals $100K in Boise City?
A $100,000 salary in Boise City has the same purchasing power as $87,132 in Hot Springs. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Boise City and Hot Springs?
Rents in Boise City are indexed at 105.6 while Hot Springs is at 57.3 (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.