Overall
- Boise City
- 98.4
Diff -10.5 RPP
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria vs Boise City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Boise City is 9.6% less expensive than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.
9.6% less expensive
Boise City, ID is 9.6% less expensive than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.4 vs 108.9). A $100,000 salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria buys about the same as $90,363 in Boise City; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 108.9 (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria) vs 98.4 (Boise City)
- $100k in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria ≈ $90,363 purchasing power in Boise City
- Rents drives the gap (-45.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair DC:ID 108.9→98.4
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE DC × 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria would need to be in Boise City for the same purchasing power:
| In Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | In Boise City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $45,182 | $-4,818 |
| $75,000 | $67,772 | $-7,228 |
| $100,000 | $90,363 | $-9,637 |
| $150,000 | $135,545 | $-14,455 |
$ in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria = in Boise City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (108.9 → 98.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV and Boise City, ID sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 10.5 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 45.6 points lower than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria corresponds to $90,363 in Boise City.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Boise City
- 96.2
Diff -8.7 RPP
Services
- Boise City
- 70.7
Diff -36.0 RPP
Rents
- Boise City
- 105.6
Diff -45.6 RPP
| Category | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | Boise City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 108.9 | 98.4 | -10.5 |
| Goods | 104.8 | 96.2 | -8.7 |
| Services | 106.7 | 70.7 | -36.0 |
| Rents | 151.1 | 105.6 | -45.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 108.9
Boise City 98.4
Goods
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 104.8
Boise City 96.2
Services
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 106.7
Boise City 70.7
Rents
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 151.1
Boise City 105.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
108.9
Cost Index
Boise City
98.4
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Boise City more expensive than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria?
Boise City is 9.6% less expensive than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. The overall cost index is 98.4 vs 108.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Boise City equals $100K in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria?
A $100,000 salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria has the same purchasing power as $90,363 in Boise City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Washington-Arlington-Alexandria and Boise City?
Rents in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria are indexed at 151.1 while Boise City is at 105.6 (national average = 100). Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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.