Overall
- Boise City
- 98.4
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff -0.1 RPP
Boise City vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 0.1% less expensive than Boise City.
0.1% less expensive
Merced, CA is 0.1% less expensive than Boise City, ID on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 98.4). A $100,000 salary in Boise City buys about the same as $99,882 in Merced; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.4 (Boise City) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in Boise City ≈ $99,882 purchasing power in Merced
- Services drives the gap (+87.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ID:CA 98.4→98.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE ID × CA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
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.
Boise City
98.4
Cost Index
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Boise City, ID and Merced, CA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Merced is 87.6 points higher. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Boise City to $99,882 in Merced, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Boise City
- 96.2
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff +9.0 RPP
Services
- Boise City
- 70.7
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff +87.6 RPP
Rents
- Boise City
- 105.6
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff -27.0 RPP
| Category | Boise City | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.4 | 98.3 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 105.2 | +9.0 |
| Services | 70.7 | 158.3 | +87.6 |
| Rents | 105.6 | 78.6 | -27.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Boise City 98.4
Merced 98.3
Goods
Boise City 96.2
Merced 105.2
Services
Boise City 70.7
Merced 158.3
Rents
Boise City 105.6
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Boise City would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In Boise City | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,941 | $-59 |
| $75,000 | $74,912 | $-88 |
| $100,000 | $99,882 | $-118 |
| $150,000 | $149,823 | $-177 |
$ in Boise City = in Merced
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.4 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merced more expensive than Boise City?
Merced is 0.1% less expensive than Boise City. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 98.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Merced equals $100K in Boise City?
A $100,000 salary in Boise City has the same purchasing power as $99,882 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Boise City and Merced?
Rents in Boise City are indexed at 105.6 while Merced is at 78.6 (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.