Overall
- Boise City
- 98.4
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
- 111.1
Diff +12.7 RPP
Boise City vs Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue is 13% more expensive than Boise City.
13% more expensive
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is 13% more expensive than Boise City, ID on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 111.1 vs 98.4). A $100,000 salary in Boise City buys about the same as $112,950 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.4 (Boise City) vs 111.1 (Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue)
- $100k in Boise City ≈ $112,950 purchasing power in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
- Rents drives the gap (+45.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ID:WA 98.4→111.1
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE ID × WA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Boise City would need to be in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue for the same purchasing power:
| In Boise City | In Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $56,475 | +$6,475 |
| $75,000 | $84,713 | +$9,713 |
| $100,000 | $112,950 | +$12,950 |
| $150,000 | $169,426 | +$19,426 |
$ in Boise City = in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.4 → 111.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Boise City, ID and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 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.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue is above 100 while Boise City is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 45.7 points higher than Boise City. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
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 $112,950 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Boise City
- 96.2
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
- 104.0
Diff +7.8 RPP
Services
- Boise City
- 70.7
Diff +22.1 RPP
Rents
- Boise City
- 105.6
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
- 151.3
Diff +45.7 RPP
| Category | Boise City | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.4 | 111.1 | +12.7 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 104.0 | +7.8 |
| Services | 70.7 | 92.8 | +22.1 |
| Rents | 105.6 | 151.3 | +45.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Boise City 98.4
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 111.1
Goods
Boise City 96.2
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 104.0
Services
Boise City 70.7
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 92.8
Rents
Boise City 105.6
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 151.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Boise City
98.4
Cost Index
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
111.1
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Boise City and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 13.9 to 12.7 RPP points. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 7.2 points between the first and latest shared releases (14.9 to 22.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Boise City RPP | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.3 | 109.1 | 13.9 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue higher |
| 2012 | 96.7 | 105.3 | 8.7 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue higher |
| 2016 | 93.2 | 110.2 | 17.0 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue higher |
| 2020 | 93.6 | 113.0 | 19.4 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue higher |
| 2024 | 98.4 | 111.1 | 12.7 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue more expensive than Boise City?
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue is 13% more expensive than Boise City. The overall cost index is 111.1 vs 98.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue equals $100K in Boise City?
A $100,000 salary in Boise City has the same purchasing power as $112,950 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Boise City and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue?
Rents in Boise City are indexed at 105.6 while Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue is at 151.3 (national average = 100). Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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.