Harrisburg composite
45.9 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Harrisburg vs Pocatello
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 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.
- 45.9
- Harrisburg Life Score
- C+
- Harrisburg grade
- 67.9
- Pocatello Life Score
- A+
- Pocatello grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Harrisburg 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.
◖ Harrisburg Pocatello ◗
cost of living
26
81
wages
65
21
rent
32
69
safety
76
82
schools
19
70
childcare
0
87
environment
52
91
Harrisburg and Pocatello differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Harrisburg has a cost-of-living index of 98.7 vs Pocatello's 88.9 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $66,873 in Harrisburg and $59,267 in Pocatello. A 2-bedroom averages $1,493/mo vs $1,173/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Harrisburg vs Pocatello Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Harrisburg and Pocatello works out to $3,840 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Harrisburg carries the same local purchasing power as $90,123 in Pocatello - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 249.5 per 100,000 residents in PA vs 234.7 in ID, with property-crime rates of 1457.1 and 754.4 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: PA lists 2,930 public schools at a 13.0:1 student-teacher ratio, while ID lists 778 schools at 16.7:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Harrisburg 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
Environment score gap
39 pts
Pocatello cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
6 pts
Pocatello safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Harrisburg
Harrisburg composite (Grade C+)
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 | Harrisburg | Pocatello |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 98.7 | 88.9 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 96.2 |
| Services | 108.1 | 69.8 |
| Rents | 96.3 | 66.4 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Pocatello gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Harrisburg?
$
Equivalent in Pocatello:
$90,123
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Harrisburg: 98.7, Pocatello: 88.9, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Harrisburg | Pocatello |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,058/mo | $809/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,212/mo | $894/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,493/mo | $1,173/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,920/mo | $1,631/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,977/mo | $1,968/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Harrisburg | Pocatello |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $66,873 | $59,267 |
| Total Employment | 327,450 | 29,080 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Harrisburg (PA) | Pocatello (ID) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 249.5 | 234.7 |
| Property Crime | 1457.1 | 754.4 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | PA | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,930 | 778 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 13.0:1 | 16.7:1 |
| Charter Schools | 6.0% | 9.9% |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | PA | ID |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 1,261 | 135 |
| Water Systems | 1,783 | 773 |
| Superfund Sites | 127 | 12 |
| Water Violations | 5,292 | 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 | Harrisburg | Pocatello |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 44.0 | 36.0 |
| Good Air Days | 61.4% | 88.8% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 1 days | 1 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | PA | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 4/100 | 5/100 |
| Total Violations | 1,159,868 | 104,850 |
| Health-Based Violations | 68,517 | 19,965 |
| Systems with Violations | 97.1% | 96.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | PA | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 90/100 | 34/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 9.7% | 65.8% |
| HPSA Designations | 402 | 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 | PA | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 40/100 | 78/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 67.4 | 38.5 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 66.6 | 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 Harrisburg more expensive than Pocatello? ▼
Harrisburg has a cost of living index of 98.7 compared to Pocatello's 88.9 (national average = 100). Harrisburg is 9.7 points above Pocatello on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Harrisburg and Pocatello? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,493/mo in Harrisburg vs $1,173/mo in Pocatello, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,058/mo to $809/mo.
How do salaries compare between Harrisburg and Pocatello? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $66,873 in Harrisburg and $59,267 in Pocatello, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Harrisburg has the same purchasing power as $90,123 in Pocatello.
Is Harrisburg or Pocatello safer? ▼
At the state level, PA has a violent crime rate of 249.5 per 100,000 residents compared to ID's 234.7 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1457.1 vs 754.4 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Harrisburg and Pocatello? ▼
PA has 2,930 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.0:1, while ID has 778 schools at 16.7:1. Charter schools make up 6.0% of PA schools vs 9.9% 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