Lewiston composite
64.1 /100
Grade A · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Lewiston vs Twin Falls
Lewiston, ID-WA and Twin Falls, 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.
- 64.1
- Lewiston Life Score
- A
- Lewiston grade
- 61.1
- Twin Falls Life Score
- A-
- Twin Falls grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Lewiston scores higher on 4 (cost of living, wages, safety, childcare) and Twin Falls on 3 (rent, schools, 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.
◖ Lewiston Twin Falls ◗
cost of living
68
62
wages
21
9
rent
61
66
safety
82
82
schools
70
71
childcare
87
86
environment
91
91
Lewiston and Twin Falls differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Lewiston has a cost-of-living index of 91.2 vs Twin Falls's 92.1 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $59,266 in Lewiston and $57,042 in Twin Falls. A 2-bedroom averages $1,220/mo vs $1,186/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Lewiston vs Twin Falls Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Lewiston and Twin Falls works out to $408 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 Lewiston carries the same local purchasing power as $101,040 in Twin Falls - 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 234.7 per 100,000 residents in ID vs 234.7 in ID, with property-crime rates of 754.4 and 754.4 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: ID lists 778 public schools at a 16.7:1 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. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $7,315/yr in the Lewiston area versus $7,315/yr in Twin Falls - 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, Lewiston and Twin Falls 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.
Twin Falls composite
61.1 /100
Grade A- · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
1 pts
Twin Falls cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
1 pts
Lewiston safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Lewiston
Lewiston composite (Grade A)
Twin Falls
Twin Falls 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 | Lewiston | Twin Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 91.2 | 92.1 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 96.2 |
| Services | 72.6 | 70.0 |
| Rents | 71.9 | 73.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Twin Falls gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Lewiston?
$
Equivalent in Twin Falls:
$101,040
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Lewiston: 91.2, Twin Falls: 92.1, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Lewiston | Twin Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $925/mo | $819/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $931/mo | $986/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,220/mo | $1,186/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,697/mo | $1,599/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,037/mo | $1,990/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Lewiston | Twin Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $59,266 | $57,042 |
| Total Employment | 22,910 | 44,180 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Lewiston (ID) | Twin Falls (ID) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 234.7 | 234.7 |
| Property Crime | 754.4 | 754.4 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | ID | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 778 | 778 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 16.7:1 | 16.7:1 |
| Charter Schools | 9.9% | 9.9% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | ID | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,315/yr | $7,315/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,002/yr | $7,002/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $6,437/yr | $6,437/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | ID | ID |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 135 | 135 |
| Water Systems | 773 | 773 |
| Superfund Sites | 12 | 12 |
| Water Violations | 2,331 | 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 | Lewiston | Twin Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 43.0 | 26.0 |
| Good Air Days | 60.0% | 92.9% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 4 days | 1 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | ID | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 5/100 | 5/100 |
| Total Violations | 104,850 | 104,850 |
| Health-Based Violations | 19,965 | 19,965 |
| Systems with Violations | 96.1% | 96.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | ID | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 34/100 | 34/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 65.8% | 65.8% |
| HPSA Designations | 253 | 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 | ID | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 78/100 | 78/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 38.5 | 38.5 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 41.3 | 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 Lewiston more expensive than Twin Falls? ▼
Lewiston has a cost of living index of 91.2 compared to Twin Falls's 92.1 (national average = 100). Twin Falls is 0.9 points above Lewiston on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Lewiston and Twin Falls? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,220/mo in Lewiston vs $1,186/mo in Twin Falls, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $925/mo to $819/mo.
How do salaries compare between Lewiston and Twin Falls? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $59,266 in Lewiston and $57,042 in Twin Falls, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Lewiston has the same purchasing power as $101,040 in Twin Falls.
Is Lewiston or Twin Falls safer? ▼
At the state level, ID has a violent crime rate of 234.7 per 100,000 residents compared to ID's 234.7 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 754.4 vs 754.4 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Lewiston and Twin Falls? ▼
ID has 778 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 16.7:1, while ID has 778 schools at 16.7:1. Charter schools make up 9.9% of ID 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
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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