Bismarck composite
57.6 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Bismarck vs Pocatello
Bismarck, ND and Pocatello, ID side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 57.6
- Bismarck Life Score
- B+
- Bismarck grade
- 67.9
- Pocatello Life Score
- A+
- Pocatello grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Bismarck scores higher on 1 (wages) and Pocatello on 6 (cost of living, rent, safety, schools, childcare, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Bismarck Pocatello ◗
cost of living
69
81
wages
78
21
rent
68
69
safety
73
82
schools
3
70
childcare
44
87
environment
22
91
Bismarck and Pocatello differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Bismarck has a cost-of-living index of 91.0 vs Pocatello's 88.9 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $70,851 in Bismarck and $59,267 in Pocatello. A 2-bedroom averages $1,175/mo vs $1,173/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Bismarck vs Pocatello Comparison
Bismarck (ND) and Pocatello (ID) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 91.0 for Bismarck against 88.9 for Pocatello, a 2.1-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,175/mo in Bismarck and $1,173/mo in Pocatello, a $2/mo difference that compounds to $24 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $70,851 across 64,970 jobs in Bismarck against $59,267 across 29,080 jobs in Pocatello. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Bismarck carries the same local purchasing power as $97,673 in Pocatello - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 256.7 per 100,000 residents in ND vs 234.7 in ID, with property-crime rates of 1705.7 and 754.4 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: ND lists 499 public schools at a 11.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while ID lists 778 schools at 17.1:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $10,925/yr in the Bismarck area versus $7,315/yr in Pocatello - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Bismarck and Pocatello are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Pocatello composite
67.9 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
2.1 pts
Bismarck vs Pocatello BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$2 /mo
Bismarck priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Bismarck
Bismarck composite (Grade B+)
Pocatello
Pocatello composite (Grade A+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Bismarck | Pocatello |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 91.0 | 88.9 |
| Goods | 95.7 | 96.2 |
| Services | 75.0 | 69.8 |
| Rents | 84.0 | 66.4 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Pocatello gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Bismarck?
$
Equivalent in Pocatello:
$97,673
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Bismarck: 91.0, Pocatello: 88.9, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Bismarck | Pocatello |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $961/mo | $809/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,030/mo | $894/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,175/mo | $1,173/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,634/mo | $1,631/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,884/mo | $1,968/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Bismarck | Pocatello |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $70,851 | $59,267 |
| Total Employment | 64,970 | 29,080 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Bismarck (ND) | Pocatello (ID) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 256.7 | 234.7 |
| Property Crime | 1705.7 | 754.4 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | ND | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 499 | 778 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 11.8:1 | 17.1:1 |
| Charter Schools | 0.0% | 9.8% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | ND | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $10,925/yr | $7,315/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $9,978/yr | $7,002/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $9,249/yr | $6,437/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | ND | ID |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 104 | 135 |
| Water Systems | 318 | 773 |
| Superfund Sites | 2 | 12 |
| Water Violations | 185 | 2,331 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Bismarck | Pocatello |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 40.0 | 36.0 |
| Good Air Days | 76.7% | 88.8% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 13 days | 1 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | ND | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 8/100 | 5/100 |
| Total Violations | 13,624 | 104,850 |
| Health-Based Violations | 2,673 | 19,965 |
| Systems with Violations | 94.0% | 96.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | ND | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 45/100 | 34/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 54.8% | 65.8% |
| HPSA Designations | 207 | 253 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | ND | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 100/100 | 78/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 22.2 | 38.5 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 25.3 | 41.3 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bismarck more expensive than Pocatello? ▼
Bismarck has a cost of living index of 91.0 compared to Pocatello's 88.9 (national average = 100). Bismarck is 2.1 points above Pocatello on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Bismarck and Pocatello? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,175/mo in Bismarck vs $1,173/mo in Pocatello, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $961/mo to $809/mo.
How do salaries compare between Bismarck and Pocatello? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $70,851 in Bismarck and $59,267 in Pocatello, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Bismarck has the same purchasing power as $97,673 in Pocatello.
Is Bismarck or Pocatello safer? ▼
At the state level, ND has a violent crime rate of 256.7 per 100,000 residents compared to ID's 234.7 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1705.7 vs 754.4 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Bismarck and Pocatello? ▼
ND has 499 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 11.8:1, while ID has 778 schools at 17.1:1. Charter schools make up 0.0% of ND schools vs 9.8% in ID. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare