Moving to Massachusetts from Idaho
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Idaho to Massachusetts — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Idaho to Massachusetts, you would find that Massachusetts is 32.3% more expensive than Idaho. A $75,000 salary in Idaho would need to be roughly $99,300 in Massachusetts to maintain the same lifestyle. Idaho Falls and Boston are about 2,050 mi apart.
Is Massachusetts cheaper than Idaho?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 23.9% more
Groceries
pay 25.7% more
Transportation
pay 16.1% more
Housing
pay 54.0% more
Childcare
pay 62.9% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.9% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Massachusetts?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $99,300
To maintain the same standard of living in Massachusetts
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Massachusetts cost about 30% more than cities in Idaho.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Idaho to Massachusetts.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Idaho performs better than Massachusetts across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Massachusetts performs significantly better than Idaho across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Idaho performs better than Massachusetts across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Idaho generally does better on infrastructure, though Massachusetts leads in internet access.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Massachusetts generally does better on employment & economy, though Idaho leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Massachusetts performs significantly better than Idaho across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Massachusetts vs Idaho
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Idaho Falls | Boston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 39°/19°F (4°/-7°C) | 40°/26°F (4°/-3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 69°/40°F (20°/5°C) | 66°/50°F (19°/10°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/49°F (29°/9°C) | 78°/62°F (25°/17°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 45°/24°F (7°/-5°C) | 51°/38°F (11°/3°C) |
View all months
| Month | Idaho Falls | Boston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/14°F (-0.7°/-10.2°C) | 36°/22°F (2.1°/-5.4°C) |
| Feb | 36°/17°F (2.3°/-8.4°C) | 39°/25°F (3.7°/-4.1°C) |
| Mar | 49°/26°F (9.3°/-3.2°C) | 45°/31°F (7.4°/-0.5°C) |
| Apr | 59°/33°F (15.2°/0.3°C) | 56°/41°F (13.1°/4.8°C) |
| May | 69°/40°F (20.3°/4.7°C) | 66°/50°F (18.9°/9.9°C) |
| Jun | 78°/47°F (25.6°/8.6°C) | 76°/60°F (24.4°/15.3°C) |
| Jul | 87°/53°F (30.7°/11.7°C) | 81°/65°F (27.4°/18.6°C) |
| Aug | 87°/51°F (30.6°/10.7°C) | 80°/65°F (26.4°/18.1°C) |
| Sep | 76°/42°F (24.3°/5.8°C) | 72°/57°F (22.4°/14.1°C) |
| Oct | 61°/33°F (16.3°/0.4°C) | 61°/47°F (16.3°/8.1°C) |
| Nov | 44°/24°F (6.4°/-4.7°C) | 51°/38°F (10.8°/3.3°C) |
| Dec | 31°/15°F (-0.5°/-9.7°C) | 41°/28°F (5.1°/-2.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Massachusetts than Idaho?
No — Massachusetts is on average about 32% more expensive than Idaho. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Massachusetts?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $24,825 in Massachusetts on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Massachusetts safe?
Idaho performs better than Massachusetts across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Massachusetts compared to Idaho?
Massachusetts performs significantly better than Idaho across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Massachusetts compared to Idaho?
The average high temperature in Boston is 59°F, compared to 59°F in Idaho Falls. Boston receives around 43.8 in of rainfall per year, while Idaho Falls gets 14.3 in.
