Pocatello composite
67.9 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Pocatello vs Walla Walla
Pocatello, ID and Walla Walla, WA 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.
- 67.9
- Pocatello Life Score
- A+
- Pocatello grade
- 48.0
- Walla Walla Life Score
- C+
- Walla Walla grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Pocatello scores higher on 5 (cost of living, rent, safety, childcare, environment) and Walla Walla on 2 (wages, schools). 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.
◖ Pocatello Walla Walla ◗
cost of living
81
26
wages
21
79
rent
69
28
safety
82
52
schools
70
79
childcare
87
11
environment
91
60
Pocatello and Walla Walla differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Pocatello has a cost-of-living index of 88.9 vs Walla Walla's 98.5 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $59,267 in Pocatello and $71,001 in Walla Walla. A 2-bedroom averages $1,173/mo vs $1,550/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Pocatello vs Walla Walla Comparison
Pocatello (ID) and Walla Walla (WA) 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 88.9 for Pocatello against 98.5 for Walla Walla, a 9.6-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 $1,173/mo in Pocatello and $1,550/mo in Walla Walla, a $377/mo difference that compounds to $4,524 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $59,267 across 29,080 jobs in Pocatello against $71,001 across 19,680 jobs in Walla Walla. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Pocatello carries the same local purchasing power as $110,813 in Walla Walla - 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 234.7 per 100,000 residents in ID vs 329.3 in WA, with property-crime rates of 754.4 and 2498.3 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: ID lists 778 public schools at a 17.1:1 student-teacher ratio, while WA lists 2,465 schools at 17.6:1, 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 Pocatello area versus $15,987/yr in Walla Walla - 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, Pocatello and Walla Walla 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.
Walla Walla composite
48.0 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-9.6 pts
Pocatello vs Walla Walla BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$377 /mo
Walla Walla priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Pocatello
Pocatello composite (Grade A+)
Walla Walla
Walla Walla composite (Grade C+)
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 | Pocatello | Walla Walla |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 88.9 | 98.5 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 105.0 |
| Services | 69.8 | 94.3 |
| Rents | 66.4 | 86.6 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Walla Walla gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Pocatello?
$
Equivalent in Walla Walla:
$110,813
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Pocatello: 88.9, Walla Walla: 98.5, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Pocatello | Walla Walla |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $809/mo | $1,074/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $894/mo | $1,181/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,173/mo | $1,550/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,631/mo | $2,118/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,968/mo | $2,600/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Pocatello | Walla Walla |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $59,267 | $71,001 |
| Total Employment | 29,080 | 19,680 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Pocatello (ID) | Walla Walla (WA) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 234.7 | 329.3 |
| Property Crime | 754.4 | 2498.3 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | ID | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 778 | 2,465 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 17.1:1 | 17.6:1 |
| Charter Schools | 9.8% | 0.6% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | ID | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,315/yr | $15,987/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,002/yr | $12,531/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $6,437/yr | $12,531/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | ID | WA |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 135 | 367 |
| Water Systems | 773 | 2,410 |
| Superfund Sites | 12 | 69 |
| Water Violations | 2,331 | 2,879 |
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 | Pocatello | Walla Walla |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 36.0 | 40.0 |
| Good Air Days | 88.8% | 79.5% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 1 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | ID | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 5/100 | 10/100 |
| Total Violations | 104,850 | 314,648 |
| Health-Based Violations | 19,965 | 20,590 |
| Systems with Violations | 96.1% | 92.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | ID | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 34/100 | 3/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 65.8% | 96.7% |
| HPSA Designations | 253 | 640 |
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 | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 78/100 | 37/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 38.5 | 70.0 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 41.3 | 69.0 |
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 Pocatello more expensive than Walla Walla? ▼
Pocatello has a cost of living index of 88.9 compared to Walla Walla's 98.5 (national average = 100). Walla Walla is 9.6 points above Pocatello on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Pocatello and Walla Walla? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,173/mo in Pocatello vs $1,550/mo in Walla Walla, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $809/mo to $1,074/mo.
How do salaries compare between Pocatello and Walla Walla? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $59,267 in Pocatello and $71,001 in Walla Walla, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Pocatello has the same purchasing power as $110,813 in Walla Walla.
Is Pocatello or Walla Walla safer? ▼
At the state level, ID has a violent crime rate of 234.7 per 100,000 residents compared to WA's 329.3 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 754.4 vs 2498.3 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Pocatello and Walla Walla? ▼
ID has 778 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.1:1, while WA has 2,465 schools at 17.6:1. Charter schools make up 9.8% of ID schools vs 0.6% in WA. 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