Overall
- Boise City
- 98.4
Diff +7.4 RPP
College Station-Bryan vs Boise City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Boise City is 8.2% more expensive than College Station-Bryan.
8.2% more expensive
Boise City, ID is 8.2% more expensive than College Station-Bryan, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.4 vs 91.0). A $100,000 salary in College Station-Bryan buys about the same as $108,180 in Boise City; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 91.0 (College Station-Bryan) vs 98.4 (Boise City)
- $100k in College Station-Bryan ≈ $108,180 purchasing power in Boise City
- Rents drives the gap (+30.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:ID 91.0→98.4
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE TX × 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
- Boise City
- 96.2
Diff +2.4 RPP
Services
- Boise City
- 70.7
Diff -13.7 RPP
Rents
- Boise City
- 105.6
Diff +30.5 RPP
| Category | College Station-Bryan | Boise City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.0 | 98.4 | +7.4 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 96.2 | +2.4 |
| Services | 84.4 | 70.7 | -13.7 |
| Rents | 75.1 | 105.6 | +30.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
College Station-Bryan 91.0
Boise City 98.4
Goods
College Station-Bryan 93.8
Boise City 96.2
Services
College Station-Bryan 84.4
Boise City 70.7
Rents
College Station-Bryan 75.1
Boise City 105.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Boise City is 30.5 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 8.2% more expensive than College Station-Bryan, TX, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.4-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 College Station-Bryan corresponds to $108,180 in Boise City.
College Station-Bryan
91.0
Cost Index
Boise City
98.4
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in College Station-Bryan would need to be in Boise City for the same purchasing power:
| In College Station-Bryan | In Boise City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $54,090 | +$4,090 |
| $75,000 | $81,135 | +$6,135 |
| $100,000 | $108,180 | +$8,180 |
| $150,000 | $162,270 | +$12,270 |
$ in College Station-Bryan = in Boise City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.0 → 98.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Boise City more expensive than College Station-Bryan?
Boise City is 8.2% more expensive than College Station-Bryan. The overall cost index is 98.4 vs 91.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Boise City equals $100K in College Station-Bryan?
A $100,000 salary in College Station-Bryan has the same purchasing power as $108,180 in Boise City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between College Station-Bryan and Boise City?
Rents in College Station-Bryan are indexed at 75.1 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.