Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Dakota vs. Idaho Cost of Living Summary
North Dakota is 2.8% cheaper than Idaho.
- Restaurants
-
pay 27.0% more in North Dakota
- Groceries
-
pay 18.2% more in North Dakota
- Transportation
-
pay 1.3% less in North Dakota
- Housing
-
pay 22.1% less in North Dakota
- Childcare
-
pay 5.9% less in North Dakota
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 9.1% more in North Dakota
- Clothing
-
pay 0.7% less in North Dakota
North Dakota vs. Idaho Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Dakota instead of Idaho, you would:
pay 27.0% more for restaurants
|
Idaho
|
North Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.93
|
$19.30
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.58
|
$12.96
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.18
|
$3.78
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.88
|
$2.46
|
|
Idaho vs. North Dakota - Cost of restaurants
pay 18.2% more for groceries
|
Idaho
|
North Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.48
|
$2.97
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.28
|
$8.16
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.38
|
$4.12
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.23
|
$3.74
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.16
|
$6.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$2.54
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.64
|
$0.91
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.53
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$2.18
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.91
|
$1.25
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.08
|
$1.43
|
|
Idaho vs. North Dakota - Cost of groceries
pay 1.3% less for transportation
|
Idaho
|
North Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.94
|
$3.52
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$35.00
|
$42.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,965.33
|
$32,921.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.66
|
?? | |
Idaho vs. North Dakota - Cost of transportation
pay 22.1% less for housing
|
Idaho
|
North Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.52
|
$72.92
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,392.92
|
$1,004.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,128.43
|
$815.11
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$138.00
|
$146.48
|
|
Idaho vs. North Dakota - Cost of housing
pay 5.9% less for childcare
|
Idaho
|
North Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,097.22
|
$1,032.40
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,698.52
|
?? | |
Idaho vs. North Dakota - Cost of childcare
pay 9.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Idaho
|
North Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.12
|
$5.38
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.02
|
$7.01
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.15
|
$10.46
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$57.88
|
$54.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.92
|
$13.69
|
|
Idaho vs. North Dakota - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.7% less for clothing
|
Idaho
|
North Dakota
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$46.26
|
$40.20
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.23
|
$39.61
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$83.09
|
$97.17
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$83.83
|
$85.56
|
|
Idaho vs. North Dakota - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Idaho vs. North Dakota
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in North Dakota?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 16 statistics
Make 61.6% more money in North Dakota
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Idaho is about 1.2 times bigger than North Dakota.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Boise vs Fargo
→
Explore more U.S. state comparisons
See how other U.S. states compare.
Browse all state comparisons.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about North Dakota or Idaho. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.