Helena composite
40.7 /100
Grade C- · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Helena vs Pocatello
Helena, MT 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.
- 40.7
- Helena Life Score
- C-
- Helena grade
- 67.9
- Pocatello Life Score
- A+
- Pocatello grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Helena scores higher on 2 (wages, environment) and Pocatello on 5 (cost of living, rent, safety, schools, childcare). 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.
◖ Helena Pocatello ◗
cost of living
39
81
wages
64
21
rent
18
69
safety
26
82
schools
5
70
childcare
35
87
environment
94
91
Helena and Pocatello differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Helena has a cost-of-living index of 95.7 vs Pocatello's 88.9 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $66,812 in Helena and $59,267 in Pocatello. A 2-bedroom averages $1,748/mo vs $1,173/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Helena vs Pocatello Comparison
Helena (MT) 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 95.7 for Helena against 88.9 for Pocatello, a 6.8-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 $1,748/mo in Helena and $1,173/mo in Pocatello, a $575/mo difference that compounds to $6,900 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $66,812 across 38,620 jobs in Helena against $59,267 across 29,080 jobs in Pocatello. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Helena carries the same local purchasing power as $92,925 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 426.4 per 100,000 residents in MT vs 234.7 in ID, with property-crime rates of 1645.6 and 754.4 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: MT lists 826 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 $11,466/yr in the Helena 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, Helena 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
6.8 pts
Helena vs Pocatello BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$575 /mo
Helena priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Helena
Helena 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 | Helena | Pocatello |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 95.7 | 88.9 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 96.2 |
| Services | 72.6 | 69.8 |
| Rents | 90.1 | 66.4 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Pocatello gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Helena?
$
Equivalent in Pocatello:
$92,925
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Helena: 95.7, Pocatello: 88.9, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Helena | Pocatello |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,240/mo | $809/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,595/mo | $894/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,748/mo | $1,173/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,096/mo | $1,631/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,856/mo | $1,968/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Helena | Pocatello |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $66,812 | $59,267 |
| Total Employment | 38,620 | 29,080 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Helena (MT) | Pocatello (ID) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 426.4 | 234.7 |
| Property Crime | 1645.6 | 754.4 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | MT | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 826 | 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 | MT | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $11,466/yr | $7,315/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $11,929/yr | $7,002/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $10,243/yr | $6,437/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | MT | ID |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 79 | 135 |
| Water Systems | 818 | 773 |
| Superfund Sites | 19 | 12 |
| Water Violations | 1,604 | 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 | Helena | Pocatello |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 44.0 | 36.0 |
| Good Air Days | 71.5% | 88.8% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 1 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | MT | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 7/100 | 5/100 |
| Total Violations | 297,270 | 104,850 |
| Health-Based Violations | 25,922 | 19,965 |
| Systems with Violations | 94.7% | 96.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | MT | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 3/100 | 34/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 97.1% | 65.8% |
| HPSA Designations | 330 | 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 | MT | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 85/100 | 78/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 33.3 | 38.5 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 32.3 | 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 Helena more expensive than Pocatello? ▼
Helena has a cost of living index of 95.7 compared to Pocatello's 88.9 (national average = 100). Helena is 6.8 points above Pocatello on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Helena and Pocatello? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,748/mo in Helena vs $1,173/mo in Pocatello, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,240/mo to $809/mo.
How do salaries compare between Helena and Pocatello? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $66,812 in Helena and $59,267 in Pocatello, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Helena has the same purchasing power as $92,925 in Pocatello.
Is Helena or Pocatello safer? ▼
At the state level, MT has a violent crime rate of 426.4 per 100,000 residents compared to ID's 234.7 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1645.6 vs 754.4 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Helena and Pocatello? ▼
MT has 826 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 MT 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
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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