State profile
Idaho Cost of Living Comparison
Idaho's 2024 price level is 95.494, 4.51% below the national level, and it has the cheapest utilities of all 51 jurisdictions (70.444), 29.56% under the U.S. level.
Updated
95.494Idaho all-items price level, U.S. = 100 · rank 23 of 51, lowest first
| Measure | Idaho | Michigan | First − second |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-items price level | 95.494 | 96.217 | −0.723 points |
| Rent price level | 90.027 | 82.332 | +7.695 points |
| Home value | $418,600±$2,550 | $231,600±$642 | +$187,000 |
| Two-bedroom gross rent | $1,163±$15 | $1,162±$6 | +$1 |
| Household income | $77,800±$743 | $72,875±$293 | +$4,925 |
| Real estate taxes paid | $2,038±$25 | $2,904±$9 | −$866 |
$4,000 of monthly spending in Idaho scales to $4,030 in Michigan at the 2024 all-items price ratio.
BEA 2024 and ACS 2020–2024; ± marks the Census 90% margin. How to read a gap
Idaho: cheap power, fast-rising prices, homes ahead of incomes
Utilities are Idaho's clearest advantage. No other state or the District has a lower utilities parity, and the gap to the national level is close to a third. Goods (96.311), rents (90.027) and other services (99.015) all sit mid-table, ranking between 23rd and 28th.
The relative price level jumped in 2024. Idaho moved slowly from 91.023 in 2020 to 92.236 in 2023, then rose by more than three points in a single year to 95.494, a total gain of 4.471 points since 2020 and the largest move of any jurisdiction in either direction. A benchmark that is only a few years old can already understate what a newcomer pays.
Home values have outrun incomes. Idaho's homes rank 13th by median value; its household incomes rank 25th, and price-adjusted income per person only 44th. Renters have it easier: the two-bedroom gross-rent median is $1,163 (rank 29) and gross rent takes 28.7% of renters' income, rank 36.
Idaho's state government draws almost equally on general sales (36.1%) and individual income tax (34.9%), collected $4,376 per resident in fiscal 2025 (rank 22) and levies no state property tax in the Census survey. Owners paid a median $2,038 a year in local real estate taxes, rank 34.
Six neighbours make Idaho a crossroads of very different markets. Washington is the expensive side, at 107.013 overall, rents at 125.979 and a two-bedroom median of $1,756; Oregon (103.361), Nevada (99.979) and Utah (98.864) are also pricier. Montana (94.645) and Wyoming (92.691) are cheaper. Michigan, at 96.217, is Idaho's nearest price level nationally.
Category price levels in Idaho
| Category | Parity | Rank, low first | vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All items | 95.494 | 23 | 4.51% below |
| Goods | 96.311 | 23 | 3.69% below |
| Housing (rents) | 90.027 | 28 | 9.97% below |
| Utilities | 70.444 | 1 | 29.56% below |
| Other services | 99.015 | 23 | 0.98% below |
| Real income per person, 2017 $ | $52,816 | 44 | U.S. $59,195 |
All items by year: 2020 91.023 · 2021 91.563 · 2022 91.802 · 2023 92.236 · 2024 95.494 (+4.471 since 2020). How to read categories and trends
Monthly housing costs
- Owners with a mortgage
- $1,687±$14 · rank 34, high first
- Owners without a mortgage
- $493±$4 · rank 41
- Renters: gross rent / income
- 28.7%±0.5 · rank 36
Idaho state tax collections, FY2025
$8.88 billion in total, $4,376 per resident. Scope of these figures
| Tax | FY2025 | Share | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual income | $3.10 billion | 34.9% | $1,528 |
| General sales | $3.20 billion | 36.1% | $1,579 |
| Property | not levied | ||
| Motor fuel | $402.0 million | 4.5% | $198 |
| Other selective sales | $590.5 million | 6.6% | $291 |
| Corporate income | $1.01 billion | 11.3% | $496 |
| Licenses | $534.1 million | 6.0% | $263 |
| Severance | $6.3 million | 0.1% | $3 |
| Other taxes | $34.6 million | 0.4% | $17 |
Idaho income tax on wages
Idaho Code section 63-3024 taxes an individual's taxable income above $2,500 at 5.3%; on a joint return the 5.3% rate starts above $5,000. The State Tax Commission raises those thresholds each year so that inflation alone does not increase the tax.
Read : Idaho Code, section 63-3024. Price parities exclude income taxes.
Idaho sales tax
Idaho Code section 63-3619 imposes Idaho's sales tax at 6% of the sales price of every retail sale the chapter taxes.
Read : Idaho Code, section 63-3619.
Idaho beside its neighbours
Before you budget a move
For Idaho, test the job-and-housing combination rather than using a low tax or rent headline as the decision. Ask how much of the offered compensation depends on hours, bonuses or benefits. Median household income describes surveyed households, including different numbers of earners; it cannot fill in a missing salary offer.
A Boise-area destination and a smaller community may require different travel and rental searches. Collect an actual two-bedroom lease if that is the dwelling your household needs. Owner-occupied home values are a separate reference and should not be converted into monthly mortgage costs without lender inputs.
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