Moving to Idaho from Massachusetts
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Massachusetts to Idaho — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Massachusetts to Idaho, you would find that Idaho is 24.4% cheaper than Massachusetts. A $75,000 salary in Massachusetts would need to be roughly $56,700 in Idaho to maintain the same lifestyle. Boston and Idaho Falls are about 2,050 mi apart.
Is Idaho cheaper than Massachusetts?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 19.3% less
Groceries
pay 20.4% less
Transportation
pay 13.8% less
Housing
pay 35.0% less
Childcare
pay 38.6% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.0% less
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 Idaho?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $56,700
To maintain the same standard of living in Idaho
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 Idaho cost about 23% less than cities in Massachusetts.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Massachusetts to Idaho.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Idaho performs significantly 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 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 significantly better than Massachusetts across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Massachusetts generally does better on infrastructure, though Idaho leads in average commute.
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 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 Idaho vs Massachusetts
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Boston | Idaho Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 40°/26°F (4°/-3°C) | 39°/19°F (4°/-7°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 66°/50°F (19°/10°C) | 69°/40°F (20°/5°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 78°/62°F (25°/17°C) | 83°/49°F (29°/9°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/38°F (11°/3°C) | 45°/24°F (7°/-5°C) |
View all months
| Month | Boston | Idaho Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36°/22°F (2.1°/-5.4°C) | 31°/14°F (-0.7°/-10.2°C) |
| Feb | 39°/25°F (3.7°/-4.1°C) | 36°/17°F (2.3°/-8.4°C) |
| Mar | 45°/31°F (7.4°/-0.5°C) | 49°/26°F (9.3°/-3.2°C) |
| Apr | 56°/41°F (13.1°/4.8°C) | 59°/33°F (15.2°/0.3°C) |
| May | 66°/50°F (18.9°/9.9°C) | 69°/40°F (20.3°/4.7°C) |
| Jun | 76°/60°F (24.4°/15.3°C) | 78°/47°F (25.6°/8.6°C) |
| Jul | 81°/65°F (27.4°/18.6°C) | 87°/53°F (30.7°/11.7°C) |
| Aug | 80°/65°F (26.4°/18.1°C) | 87°/51°F (30.6°/10.7°C) |
| Sep | 72°/57°F (22.4°/14.1°C) | 76°/42°F (24.3°/5.8°C) |
| Oct | 61°/47°F (16.3°/8.1°C) | 61°/33°F (16.3°/0.4°C) |
| Nov | 51°/38°F (10.8°/3.3°C) | 44°/24°F (6.4°/-4.7°C) |
| Dec | 41°/28°F (5.1°/-2.1°C) | 31°/15°F (-0.5°/-9.7°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Idaho than Massachusetts?
Yes — Idaho is on average about 24% cheaper than Massachusetts. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Idaho?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $14,175 in Idaho on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Idaho safe?
Idaho performs significantly better than Massachusetts across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Idaho compared to Massachusetts?
Massachusetts performs better than Idaho across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Idaho compared to Massachusetts?
The average high temperature in Idaho Falls is 59°F, compared to 59°F in Boston. Idaho Falls receives around 14.3 in of rainfall per year, while Boston gets 43.8 in.
