Mountain West · Updated October 2026
Idaho in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$1,367/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
20.2%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
5.3%
top marginal rate, single filer
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
0.43%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
98.0
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
31st
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
Where Idaho stands out: the 10th smallest rent-to-income bite and the 3rd lowest property taxes among the 50 states.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 6.3% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 16th lowest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Boise (Boise Air Terminal station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 41°F | 27°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 63°F | 41°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 88°F | 59°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 65°F | 42°F |
$1,540/mo two-bedroom · $1,295 one-bedroom (Boise City, ID HUD Metro FMR Area)
Boise is a clean, outdoorsy, fast-growing high-desert capital with a river greenbelt through the middle and mountains just north. Formerly cheap and no longer, politically conservative statewide but moderate in town, with excellent air and easy access to wilderness.
$1,507/mo two-bedroom · $1,290 one-bedroom (Coeur d'Alene, ID MSA)
Coeur d'Alene is a scenic lake town in Idaho's panhandle, popular with retirees and Washington transplants. Beautiful summers, snowy winters, a tourism-and-services economy, and housing costs that have climbed far faster than local wages.
$1,274/mo two-bedroom · $1,064 one-bedroom (Idaho Falls, ID HUD Metro FMR Area)
Idaho Falls is an eastern Idaho city near Yellowstone and the Tetons, anchored by the Idaho National Laboratory. Cheap, quiet, family-oriented and heavily LDS, with a surprisingly strong engineering job market for its size.
$1,673/mo two-bedroom · $1,279 one-bedroom (Blaine County, ID)
Sun Valley is a historic destination ski resort in a remote mountain valley — small, wealthy and beautiful, with almost no affordable housing and a workforce that commutes from further down-valley.
$1,285/mo two-bedroom · $982 one-bedroom (Twin Falls County, ID HUD Metro FMR Area)
Twin Falls sits above the Snake River Canyon in agricultural southern Idaho — dairy, food processing and a spectacular waterfall. Very inexpensive, conservative, and a long drive from any larger city.
$1,251/mo two-bedroom · $956 one-bedroom (Pocatello, ID MSA)
Pocatello is a southeast Idaho railroad and university town, home to Idaho State University, with mountains and trails at the edge of town. Low costs, windy, with a small-city job market.
$1,043/mo two-bedroom · $908 one-bedroom (Latah County, ID)
Moscow is a college town on the Palouse, home to the University of Idaho, with Washington State just across the line in Pullman. Rolling wheat fields, a friendly downtown, and a small job market outside the university.
$1,328/mo two-bedroom · $1,015 one-bedroom (Bonner County, ID)
Sandpoint is a small resort town on Lake Pend Oreille with Schweitzer ski area above it. Spectacular setting that has drawn many newcomers, so housing is costly, winters are snowy and jobs are limited.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
Yes. Idaho’s top marginal income-tax rate for a single filer is 5.3% (Idaho tax law, 2026). Counting property and sales tax too, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 6.3% of income in state and local taxes (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $1,367 a month and a one-bedroom for about $1,132, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $392 less than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 98.0 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 123.8 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 20.2% of the state’s median household income of $81,166.
Idaho recorded 230.6 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the 14th lowest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are wildfires. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Idaho’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 31st percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Boise, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Sun Valley and Twin Falls. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.