Overall
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
- 111.1
- Boise City
- 98.4
Diff -12.7 RPP
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue vs Boise City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Boise City is 11.5% less expensive than Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue.
11.5% less expensive
Boise City, ID is 11.5% less expensive than Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.4 vs 111.1). A $100,000 salary in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue buys about the same as $88,534 in Boise City; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 111.1 (Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue) vs 98.4 (Boise City)
- $100k in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue ≈ $88,534 purchasing power in Boise City
- Rents drives the gap (-45.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:ID 111.1→98.4
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE WA × ID
- 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue would need to be in Boise City for the same purchasing power:
| In Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | In Boise City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $44,267 | $-5,733 |
| $75,000 | $66,401 | $-8,599 |
| $100,000 | $88,534 | $-11,466 |
| $150,000 | $132,802 | $-17,198 |
$ in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue = in Boise City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (111.1 → 98.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA and Boise City, ID 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 Boise City 45.7 points lower than Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue. 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue corresponds to $88,534 in Boise City.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
- 104.0
- Boise City
- 96.2
Diff -7.8 RPP
Services
- Boise City
- 70.7
Diff -22.1 RPP
Rents
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
- 151.3
- Boise City
- 105.6
Diff -45.7 RPP
| Category | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | Boise City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 111.1 | 98.4 | -12.7 |
| Goods | 104.0 | 96.2 | -7.8 |
| Services | 92.8 | 70.7 | -22.1 |
| Rents | 151.3 | 105.6 | -45.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 111.1
Boise City 98.4
Goods
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 104.0
Boise City 96.2
Services
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 92.8
Boise City 70.7
Rents
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 151.3
Boise City 105.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
111.1
Cost Index
Boise City
98.4
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue and Boise City 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 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue RPP | Boise City RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 109.1 | 95.3 | 13.9 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue higher |
| 2012 | 105.3 | 96.7 | 8.7 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue higher |
| 2016 | 110.2 | 93.2 | 17.0 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue higher |
| 2020 | 113.0 | 93.6 | 19.4 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue higher |
| 2024 | 111.1 | 98.4 | 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 Boise City more expensive than Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue?
Boise City is 11.5% less expensive than Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue. The overall cost index is 98.4 vs 111.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Boise City equals $100K in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue?
A $100,000 salary in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue has the same purchasing power as $88,534 in Boise City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue and Boise City?
Rents in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue are indexed at 151.3 while Boise City is at 105.6 (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.