Metro Life Score
Boise City, ID
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade A-, 85th percentile of the national corpus.
- 59.2
- Life Score / 100
- A-
- Grade (curved)
- #58
- of 387 metros
- 85%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Boise City is top-quartile composite Life Score — #58 of 387 (59.2/100, grade A-, 85th percentile). Carried by environment at 90/100; held back most by rent at 23/100.
- 85th
- composite percentile
- #58
- of 387 peers
- 26th
- cost dimension percentile
- 66th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · signature composite
Boise City: top-third composite Life Score
Boise City clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#58 of 387, 59.2/100, grade A-, 85th percentile). Stamps UPPER · ENVIRO-LED; cost DEAR (26th) · wages HIGH (66th). Environment at 90/100 carries the lead; Rent (23/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Boise City, ID ranks #58 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #285 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 98.4 (rent-RPP 105.6). BLS median salary $67,378, 377,880 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,655/mo (studio $1,170).
FBI UCR (ID): 235 violent, 754 property/100K. NCES: 16.7:1 ratio, 9.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,315/yr. EPA: 12 Superfund sites (ID).
Where Boise City sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
59 Top 15% higher than 85% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 59.2 is built
Boise City's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Boise City scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are ID state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Boise City With...
Ranking Context
Boise City outranks 85% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #55 | Peoria, IL | 59.5 | A- |
| #56 | Winston-Salem, NC | 59.6 | A- |
| #57 | Rochester, MN | 59.8 | A- |
| #58 | Boise City, ID | 59.2 | A- |
| #59 | Albany, GA | 59.1 | A- |
| #60 | Brownsville-Harlingen, TX | 58.9 | A- |
| #61 | Johnstown, PA | 58.9 | A- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Boise City, ID is top 15% highest-quality nationally but only bottom 27% least affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
ID Metro Scores
Read with Boise City
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Boise City (UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Albany, GA
ABS(composite) peer at 59.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Peoria, IL
ABS(composite) peer at 59.5 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 58.9 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Johnstown, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 58.9 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Barnstable Town, MA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 27/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Walla Walla, WA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 26/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Boise City, ID relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Boise City's top-third Life Score
Boise City scores 59.2/100 overall, but Environment (90.2) and Rent (23.3) sit 66.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Boise City's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Rent is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Pocatello is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Pocatello
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.