Overall
- Boise City
- 98.4
- Knoxville
- 92.6
Diff -5.8 RPP
Boise City vs Knoxville
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Knoxville is 5.9% less expensive than Boise City.
5.9% less expensive
Knoxville, TN is 5.9% less expensive than Boise City, ID on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.6 vs 98.4). A $100,000 salary in Boise City buys about the same as $94,083 in Knoxville; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.4 (Boise City) vs 92.6 (Knoxville)
- $100k in Boise City ≈ $94,083 purchasing power in Knoxville
- Rents drives the gap (-22.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ID:TN 98.4→92.6
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE ID × TN
- 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
- Knoxville
- 96.2
Diff +0.1 RPP
Services
- Boise City
- 70.7
- Knoxville
- 71.9
Diff +1.2 RPP
Rents
- Boise City
- 105.6
- Knoxville
- 82.8
Diff -22.8 RPP
| Category | Boise City | Knoxville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.4 | 92.6 | -5.8 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 96.2 | +0.1 |
| Services | 70.7 | 71.9 | +1.2 |
| Rents | 105.6 | 82.8 | -22.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Boise City 98.4
Knoxville 92.6
Goods
Boise City 96.2
Knoxville 96.2
Services
Boise City 70.7
Knoxville 71.9
Rents
Boise City 105.6
Knoxville 82.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Knoxville is 22.8 points lower. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Knoxville, TN is 5.9% less expensive than Boise City, ID, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.8-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 $94,083 in Knoxville.
Boise City
98.4
Cost Index
Knoxville
92.6
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Boise City would need to be in Knoxville for the same purchasing power:
| In Boise City | In Knoxville | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,041 | $-2,959 |
| $75,000 | $70,562 | $-4,438 |
| $100,000 | $94,083 | $-5,917 |
| $150,000 | $141,124 | $-8,876 |
$ in Boise City = in Knoxville
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.4 → 92.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Knoxville more expensive than Boise City?
Knoxville is 5.9% less expensive than Boise City. The overall cost index is 92.6 vs 98.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Knoxville equals $100K in Boise City?
A $100,000 salary in Boise City has the same purchasing power as $94,083 in Knoxville. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Boise City and Knoxville?
Rents in Boise City are indexed at 105.6 while Knoxville is at 82.8 (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.