Cost of living comparison
compared to
Seattle vs. Boise Cost of Living Summary
Seattle is 41.6% more expensive than Boise.
- Restaurants
-
pay 19.2% more in Seattle
- Groceries
-
pay 55.4% more in Seattle
- Transportation
-
pay 46.0% more in Seattle
- Housing
-
pay 41.4% more in Seattle
- Childcare
-
pay 53.2% more in Seattle
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 39.8% more in Seattle
- Clothing
-
pay 36.2% more in Seattle
The cost of groceries, childcare, transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Seattle are more expensive than in Boise.
Seattle vs. Boise Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Seattle instead of Boise, you would:
pay 19.2% more for restaurants
|
Boise
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.64
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.18
|
$2.47
|
|
Boise vs. Seattle - Cost of restaurants
pay 55.4% more for groceries
|
Boise
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.27
|
$5.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.39
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.44
|
$5.40
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.43
|
$7.32
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.30
|
$7.35
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
|
$1.26
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.68
|
$2.43
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$3.18
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$1.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$1.57
|
|
Boise vs. Seattle - Cost of groceries
pay 46.0% more for transportation
|
Boise
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.54
|
$4.55
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$42.00
|
$99.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,650.00
|
$36,656.56
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.60
|
$16.02
|
|
Boise vs. Seattle - Cost of transportation
pay 41.4% more for housing
|
Boise
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$73.25
|
$78.37
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,634.33
|
$2,333.68
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,408.89
|
$1,900.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$111.02
|
$200.99
|
|
Boise vs. Seattle - Cost of housing
pay 53.2% more for childcare
|
Boise
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,238.89
|
$2,200.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,265.00
|
$30,000.00
|
|
Boise vs. Seattle - Cost of childcare
pay 39.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Boise
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$7.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.38
|
$6.04
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.50
|
$12.75
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.83
|
$85.87
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.50
|
$16.00
|
|
Boise vs. Seattle - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 36.2% more for clothing
|
Boise
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$59.08
|
$69.52
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.00
|
$54.68
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$89.40
|
$116.24
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$99.17
|
$135.08
|
|
Boise vs. Seattle - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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