Boise vs Pocatello leftover
You'd keep $95 more a month in Pocatello
$2,076/mo leftover in Pocatello vs $1,981 in Boise after tax and rent ($95 more). +$1,140 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Boise leftover
$1,981
a month after tax and rent
Pocatello leftover
$2,076
+$95 vs Boise
Compare Boise to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Boise.
Monthly gap
Boise → Pocatello
$95
more / month in Pocatello
$2,076 in Pocatello · $1,981 in Boise · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 149 households moved Boise → Pocatello (avg AGI $47,349). 225 went the other way. The whole move →
+$95 / mo
| Per month | Boise | Pocatello | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,000 | $6,393 | −$607 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,706 | $1,492 | −$214 |
| Take-home pay | $5,294 | $4,902 | −$392 |
| Rent | $1,383 | $875 | −$508 |
| Getting around | $524 | $549 | +$25 |
| Groceries | $388 | $387 | −$1 |
| Healthcare | $437 | $435 | −$2 |
| Utilities | $243 | $242 | −$1 |
| Everything else | $340 | $338 | −$2 |
| Left over | $1,981 | $2,076 | +$95 |
To break even in Pocatello, you'd need to earn
$75,000
Household gross, versus $84,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Boise does now.
The tax difference alone
+$415
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.4% in Boise, 23.3% in Pocatello.
More about Pocatello
Boise, ID in full
Outdoor access that rivals Denver, on wages that haven't caught up to the home prices.
Pocatello, ID in full
A flat 5.7% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,042 and 228 sunny days; commutes average 18 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Pocatello on Pocatello wages.
Pocatello → Boise →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Pocatello than Boise?
A one-bedroom is about $1,383 in Boise versus $875 in Pocatello. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $95 a month higher in Pocatello. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Pocatello have state income tax?
Pocatello is in Idaho, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Boise to Pocatello?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Idaho tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Boise and Pocatello moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.