Overall
- Champaign-Urbana
- 92.7
- Boise City
- 98.4
Diff +5.7 RPP
Champaign-Urbana vs Boise City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Boise City is 6.1% more expensive than Champaign-Urbana.
6.1% more expensive
Boise City, ID is 6.1% more expensive than Champaign-Urbana, IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.4 vs 92.7). A $100,000 salary in Champaign-Urbana buys about the same as $106,135 in Boise City; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.7 (Champaign-Urbana) vs 98.4 (Boise City)
- $100k in Champaign-Urbana ≈ $106,135 purchasing power in Boise City
- Rents drives the gap (+34.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:ID 92.7→98.4
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE IL × ID
- 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
- Champaign-Urbana
- 93.6
- Boise City
- 96.2
Diff +2.5 RPP
Services
- Champaign-Urbana
- 90.5
- Boise City
- 70.7
Diff -19.8 RPP
Rents
- Champaign-Urbana
- 71.6
- Boise City
- 105.6
Diff +34.0 RPP
| Category | Champaign-Urbana | Boise City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.7 | 98.4 | +5.7 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 96.2 | +2.5 |
| Services | 90.5 | 70.7 | -19.8 |
| Rents | 71.6 | 105.6 | +34.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Champaign-Urbana 92.7
Boise City 98.4
Goods
Champaign-Urbana 93.6
Boise City 96.2
Services
Champaign-Urbana 90.5
Boise City 70.7
Rents
Champaign-Urbana 71.6
Boise City 105.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Boise City is 34.0 points higher. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Boise City, ID is 6.1% more expensive than Champaign-Urbana, IL, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.7-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 Champaign-Urbana corresponds to $106,135 in Boise City.
Champaign-Urbana
92.7
Cost Index
Boise City
98.4
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Champaign-Urbana would need to be in Boise City for the same purchasing power:
| In Champaign-Urbana | In Boise City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $53,067 | +$3,067 |
| $75,000 | $79,601 | +$4,601 |
| $100,000 | $106,135 | +$6,135 |
| $150,000 | $159,202 | +$9,202 |
$ in Champaign-Urbana = in Boise City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.7 → 98.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Champaign-Urbana and Boise City share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 0.9 to 5.7 RPP points. Boise City remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 30.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (3.1 to 34.0 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Champaign-Urbana RPP | Boise City RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 96.2 | 95.3 | 0.9 points Champaign-Urbana higher |
| 2012 | 94.2 | 96.7 | 2.5 points Boise City higher |
| 2016 | 93.7 | 93.2 | 0.6 points Champaign-Urbana higher |
| 2020 | 91.9 | 93.6 | 1.8 points Boise City higher |
| 2024 | 92.7 | 98.4 | 5.7 points Boise City 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 Boise City more expensive than Champaign-Urbana?
Boise City is 6.1% more expensive than Champaign-Urbana. The overall cost index is 98.4 vs 92.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Boise City equals $100K in Champaign-Urbana?
A $100,000 salary in Champaign-Urbana has the same purchasing power as $106,135 in Boise City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Champaign-Urbana and Boise City?
Rents in Champaign-Urbana are indexed at 71.6 while Boise City is at 105.6 (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.