Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Let's be honest: Idaho isn't cheap. But within that premium market, there are cities where your dollar stretches meaningfully further. Nampa proves it with a cost index of 91, the lowest in Idaho, and we've ranked all 3 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
#1 Ranked: Nampa — cost index 91, rent $1,561/mo, income $72,122
Nampa rent up 4% over the past year
2 of 3 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Let's be honest: Idaho isn't cheap. But within that premium market, there are cities where your dollar stretches meaningfully further. Nampa proves it with a cost index of 91, the lowest in Idaho, and we've ranked all 3 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
Nampa rent up 4% over the past year. Rent in #1-ranked Nampa has increased from $1,502 to $1,561/mo over the past 12 months — a 4% increase. Rising costs may erode its top ranking over time.
Here's Nampa by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 91. Rent: $1,561/month. Income: $72,122/year. Home price: $408,658. Population: 114,268. The strongest category is Housing at 91; the most expensive is Healthcare at 98. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $4,008 per year vs. the national median. For anyone relocating from a high-cost market, this will feel like a raise.
The housing sub-index is derived from overall cost of living with regional BLS price adjustments. A score of 101 (the top-10 average here) means housing costs are about -1% below the national median. Nampa leads at 91, followed by Boise (99) and Meridian (114). Note: a low housing index doesn't guarantee a low overall cost — check the full cost breakdown table below.
The broader context shifts things: State context matters: Idaho's 3 cities average a 101 cost index with $1,739/month median rent and $84,039 household income. Pandemic migration boom has reshaped prices. The methodology section explains how we weighted each factor — it matters.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
114,268 residents · Idaho
Dive into Nampa's numbers: cost index 91 (20 points below national average), rent $1,561/month, income $72,122, and a home price of $408,658. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 91, while Healthcare runs 98. With 114,268 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
235,421 residents · Idaho
What does daily life actually cost in Boise? Start with the 25% rent-to-income ratio — tight but manageable for most households. That's more or less in line with the region. On the category level, Housing (index 99) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 100) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $81,308 and homes at $494,696 round out a profile that ranks #2 for clear reasons.
134,801 residents · Idaho
Dive into Meridian's numbers: cost index 114 (3 points above national average), rent $1,954/month, income $98,686, and a home price of $526,393. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Healthcare is the cheapest category at 103, while Housing runs 114. With 134,801 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
Cities are ranked by their housing cost sub-index within Idaho. Each sub-index is derived from the overall cost of living with regional adjustment factors. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Nampa ranks #1 in Idaho for this analysis with a cost index of 91 and median income of $72,122.
Nampa, ID has the lowest housing index at 91, compared to the national average of 100.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Nampa (ranked #1) has a cost index of 91 and rent of $1,561/mo, while Meridian (ranked #3) has a cost index of 114 and rent of $1,954/mo — a 23-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Nampa is $1,561/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $334 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Nampa is $408,658, which is 5.7× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
Idaho has a 5.695% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 6.02%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.56%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.