Reading Time: 4 minutesBoise, Idaho has long been a highly sought-after city because of its low cost of living and high quality of life. People choose to move to Boise because of its low crime rate, abundance of outdoor activities, good job opportunities, and family-friendly environment.
But with record-breaking inflation and soaring housing prices over the last few years, is it still affordable?
Here we’ll look at the cost of living in Boise, Idaho vs. the cost of housing so you can get a realistic idea of what it takes to live here.
Cost of Living in Boise Idaho
While Boise is not as expensive as other major US cities, it has still been impacted by rising inflation rates and increased housing costs.
The cost of living may be best illustrated by understanding living wage calculations determined by typical expenses in Boise. Some examples of
average living costs in Boise include:
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- Housing: $1,540 for a two-bedroom apartment rental; $524,558 as a median home price (more on the cost of housing in Boise below)
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- Transportation: $3.92 per gallon of gas
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- Food: Bread ($3.36), dozen eggs ($1.55), or a gallon of milk ($1.99)
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- Healthcare: $137.35 for a doctor’s visit
A living wage is the hourly rate someone must earn to support themselves and their family and pay for these average living costs. Note that it does not account for savings and investments, but only covers living expenses.
Assuming someone is working full-time, a
living wage in Boise Idaho is as follows:
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- One adult, no children: $16.17/hour
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- One adult, two children: $39.53/hour
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- Two adults (one working), no children: $25.72/hour
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- Two adults (one working), two children: $37.17/hour
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- Two adults (both working), no children: $12.43/hour
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- Two adults (both working), two children: $22.73/hour
In Boise, the minimum wage is
$7.25/hour, which is less than any of these living wage categories.
That said, most people are earning above minimum wage. The
average hourly wage across occupations as $23.77 in 2021, which is lower than the US-wide average of $28.01.
This hourly rate, of course, varies across industries. For example, as of May 2021, financial managers earn approximately $56.49/hour, registered nurses earn $36.30/hour, and construction laborers earn $17.84/hour.
Cost of Living in Boise, Idaho vs. Other Cities
It is also helpful to understand the cost of living in Boise in comparison to other cities. Using a
cost-of-living calculator, we can see how Boise compares to other cities in the US of a comparable size (200,000-250,000 people):
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- Spokane, Washington: 2% lower cost of living than Boise
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- Scottsdale, Arizona: 7% higher than Boise
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- Lubbock, Texas: 18% lower than Boise
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- Richmond, Virginia: 11% lower than Boise
To compare with other cities in Idaho, Twin Falls has a cost of living that is 18% lower than Boise and Idaho Falls is 31% lower.
And, of course, cities such as LA and New York have a significantly higher cost of living than in Boise—31% and 57% respectively.
Cost of Living in Boise, Idaho and Inflation
Like everywhere, Boise has been impacted by high inflation rates over the last little while.
Overall inflation for the Boise area is at a 7.1% increase from November 2021 to November 2022.
Some categories have much higher inflation.
Year over year increases are 10.6% for food and 13.1% for energy.
Despite this, there is promising economic growth in Boise and around Idaho.
Unemployment rates are lower than national averages, and there is
positive GDP growth in the state. These both speak to a healthy economy, despite rising inflation and an increased cost of living.
Cost of Housing in Boise Idaho
A key element of the overall cost of living in Boise is, of course, the cost of housing.
Today, the average cost to purchase a home in Boise is
$494,220 as of December 31, 2022. This represents a 5.1% decrease from one year previous.
Home prices skyrocketed in 2020, where average costs were just $337,557 at the beginning of that year.
As demand to move to Boise increased, the hot real estate market continued to climb for almost two years. Mid-2022, however, the market started to cool down. In July 2022, for example,
nearly 70% of homeowners slashed their asking price, up from the 29.6% who did in 2021.
So, real estate prices are decreasing in Boise. And that makes some people worry that a crash is imminent. We previously wrote about the
unlikeliness of a housing market crash—what’s happening now in Boise is simply a compression back to pre-pandemic growth levels.
That means that while the cost of housing in Boise is significantly higher than it has been, the astronomical growth rates that happened over the pandemic are over and things are getting back to normal.
Conclusion
Let’s revisit our main question: looking at the cost of living in Boise, Idaho vs. the cost of housing, is Boise still an affordable place to live?
Like most things, the answer is “it depends.” Your income and lifestyle play a huge role in what makes something affordable or not. Inflation has, undoubtedly, made living in the city more expensive and the cost of living in Boise is higher than some other cities around the same size.
With that said, Boise has some positive economic prospects, enjoys a low unemployment rate, and the real estate market is compressing to more normal growth rates. This is promising for people who wish to move to the area and purchase a home.
Overall, people still want to move to Boise. And because of that, it’s a great housing market to be in.
If you are in the market for a new home and want to explore your options,
contact us today. Oakmont Custom Homes build high-quality custom homes in Boise, Idaho—our goal is to help customers begin their new life with a one-of-a-kind custom home!
