Moving to Idaho from Texas
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Texas to Idaho — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Texas to Idaho, you would find that Idaho is 2.8% cheaper than Texas. A $75,000 salary in Texas would need to be roughly $72,900 in Idaho to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Idaho Falls averages 59°F vs 80°F in Houston, making it significantly cooler. Houston and Idaho Falls are about 1,300 mi apart.
Is Idaho cheaper than Texas?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 9.0% less
Groceries
pay 2.1% less
Transportation
pay 8.0% less
Housing
pay 1.9% more
Childcare
pay 11.3% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 5.6% 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 Idaho?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $72,900
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 1% less than cities in Texas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Texas to Idaho.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Idaho performs significantly better than Texas 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
Idaho performs significantly better than Texas 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 generally does better on what about housing?, though Texas leads in median home value.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Idaho performs significantly better than Texas across all infrastructure metrics.
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
Texas 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
Texas generally does better on family life, though Idaho leads in life expectancy.
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 Texas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Houston | Idaho Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 67°/48°F (20°/9°C) | 39°/19°F (4°/-7°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 86°/67°F (30°/19°C) | 69°/40°F (20°/5°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 93°/73°F (34°/23°C) | 83°/49°F (29°/9°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 73°/53°F (23°/11°C) | 45°/24°F (7°/-5°C) |
View all months
| Month | Houston | Idaho Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 63°/43°F (17.2°/6.2°C) | 31°/14°F (-0.7°/-10.2°C) |
| Feb | 66°/47°F (19.1°/8.1°C) | 36°/17°F (2.3°/-8.4°C) |
| Mar | 73°/53°F (22.8°/11.4°C) | 49°/26°F (9.3°/-3.2°C) |
| Apr | 80°/59°F (26.4°/15.2°C) | 59°/33°F (15.2°/0.3°C) |
| May | 86°/68°F (30.2°/19.8°C) | 69°/40°F (20.3°/4.7°C) |
| Jun | 91°/73°F (33.0°/22.9°C) | 78°/47°F (25.6°/8.6°C) |
| Jul | 94°/75°F (34.3°/23.9°C) | 87°/53°F (30.7°/11.7°C) |
| Aug | 94°/75°F (34.7°/23.8°C) | 87°/51°F (30.6°/10.7°C) |
| Sep | 90°/70°F (32.1°/21.0°C) | 76°/42°F (24.3°/5.8°C) |
| Oct | 82°/61°F (27.8°/16.1°C) | 61°/33°F (16.3°/0.4°C) |
| Nov | 72°/52°F (22.5°/11.2°C) | 44°/24°F (6.4°/-4.7°C) |
| Dec | 64°/45°F (17.9°/7.0°C) | 31°/15°F (-0.5°/-9.7°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Idaho than Texas?
Yes — Idaho is on average about 3% cheaper than Texas. 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 $18,225 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 Texas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Idaho compared to Texas?
Idaho performs significantly better than Texas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Idaho compared to Texas?
The average high temperature in Idaho Falls is 59°F, compared to 80°F in Houston. Idaho Falls receives around 14.3 in of rainfall per year, while Houston gets 49.8 in.
