Overall
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
- 103.3
- Boise City
- 98.4
Diff -4.9 RPP
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler vs Boise City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Boise City is 4.8% less expensive than Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler.
4.8% less expensive
Boise City, ID is 4.8% less expensive than Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.4 vs 103.3). A $100,000 salary in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler buys about the same as $95,233 in Boise City; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 103.3 (Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler) vs 98.4 (Boise City)
- $100k in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler ≈ $95,233 purchasing power in Boise City
- Services drives the gap (-22.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AZ:ID 103.3→98.4
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE AZ × ID
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Boise City
- 96.2
Diff +1.2 RPP
Services
- Boise City
- 70.7
Diff -22.6 RPP
Rents
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
- 121.2
- Boise City
- 105.6
Diff -15.7 RPP
| Category | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | Boise City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.3 | 98.4 | -4.9 |
| Goods | 95.0 | 96.2 | +1.2 |
| Services | 93.3 | 70.7 | -22.6 |
| Rents | 121.2 | 105.6 | -15.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 103.3
Boise City 98.4
Goods
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 95.0
Boise City 96.2
Services
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 93.3
Boise City 70.7
Rents
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 121.2
Boise City 105.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Services creates the largest separation: Boise City is 22.6 points lower. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Boise City, ID is 4.8% less expensive than Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 4.9-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler is above 100 while Boise City is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler to $95,233 in Boise City, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
103.3
Cost Index
Boise City
98.4
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler would need to be in Boise City for the same purchasing power:
| In Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | In Boise City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,617 | $-2,383 |
| $75,000 | $71,425 | $-3,575 |
| $100,000 | $95,233 | $-4,767 |
| $150,000 | $142,850 | $-7,150 |
$ in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler = in Boise City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.3 → 98.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Boise City more expensive than Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler?
Boise City is 4.8% less expensive than Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler. The overall cost index is 98.4 vs 103.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Boise City equals $100K in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler?
A $100,000 salary in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler has the same purchasing power as $95,233 in Boise City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler and Boise City?
Rents in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler are indexed at 121.2 while Boise City is at 105.6 (national average = 100). Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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.