PlainCompare

State Life Score

Idaho

Grade B- on the national curve - #27 of 51 states, ahead of 47% of US states on the composite Life Score.

50.1
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#27
of 51 states
47%
of states outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Idaho ranks #27 of 51 US states, ahead of 47% - carried by its childcare (86/100) and held back most by wages (16/100).

86
strongest: Childcare
76
then: Schools
16
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

How the score is built

Reading the Idaho Life Score

Idaho's composite score of 50.1 out of 100, earning a grade of B- - places the state at rank #27 of 51 in the national file. The composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: Cost of Living (20%), Wages (20%), Rent (15%), Safety (15%), Schools (10%), Childcare (10%) and Environment (10%), each normalized to a 0-100 percentile scale. Because the weights are fixed, the state composite is driven more by how the cost and wage dimensions score than by any single other input, a state with strong cost and wage percentiles can absorb mid-tier scores on schools or environment and still land a high overall grade.

In Idaho, the dimension readings are Cost of Living 56/100, Wages 16/100, Rent 50/100, Safety 64/100, Schools 76/100, Childcare 86/100, Environment 24/100. Dimensions where the score sits above 60 indicate the state is in the upper half of the national distribution on that input, while scores below 40 point to structural gaps that a state-level policy or geography cannot easily swap out. The strongest input for Idaho is Childcare at 86/100, which carries 10% of the composite weight. The weakest input is Wages at 16/100, carrying 20% of the composite, the drag this adds to the overall score is mechanical, not a ranking artifact.

State-level scores average urban, suburban and rural geography within Idaho, so the readings above should be treated as a state baseline rather than as a readout for any specific metro or county inside the state. Metros inside Idaho are scored separately on the metro pages using the same seven-dimension framework, and individual metros routinely land one or two grades above or below the state composite depending on their local cost, wage and safety profile. For a household weighing a move into or inside Idaho, the state score is best used as a filter, states that grade below C often rule themselves out on cost-of-living or safety alone, while the metro-level pages remain the right tool for the final decision. All underlying data traces back to BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL and EPA on the dimension indicated.

Where Idaho sits among all US states

Composite Life Score vs the 50 states + DC

50 47th percentile higher than 47% of 51 US states

30–35: 3 US states (6%). Below this entry. 35–40: 10 US states (20%). Below this entry. 40–45: 3 US states (6%). Below this entry. 45–50: 8 US states (16%). Below this entry. 50–55: 8 US states (16%). This entry sits in this band. 55–60: 11 US states (22%). Above this entry. 60–65: 7 US states (14%). Above this entry. 65–70: 1 US states (2%). Above this entry. This state 30 70 every US state, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US states. 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

Dimension detail

How Idaho scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 56/100 (20%)
Wages 16/100 (20%)
Rent 50/100 (15%)
Safety 64/100 (15%)
Schools 76/100 (10%)
Childcare 86/100 (10%)
Environment 24/100 (10%)

Similar-Scoring States

Alabama B+ 57.3 Minnesota B+ 56.5 Utah B+ 56.2 Louisiana B 55.7 Virginia B 55.6 Kansas B 55.3

Frequently asked questions

What is Idaho's Life Score? ▼
Idaho has a composite Life Score of 50.1 out of 100 (grade B-), ranking #27 of 51 US states. The score is a weighted blend of seven dimensions, cost of living, wages, rent, safety, schools, childcare and environment, each normalized to a national percentile, so the grade reflects standing relative to other states, not an absolute bar.
How is Idaho's score calculated? ▼
Each of the seven dimensions is scored 0–100 as a national percentile from an official federal dataset (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA), then weighted, Cost of Living and Wages 20% each, Rent and Safety 15%, Schools, Childcare and Environment 10% - into one composite. Idaho's strongest input is childcare (86/100) and its weakest is wages (16/100).
Is Idaho a good place to live? ▼
That depends on your priorities, the score is a filter, not a verdict. Idaho grades B- overall, but a state's average hides wide variation between its metros, which are scored separately on the same seven-dimension framework. Use the state score to shortlist, then compare specific metros for a relocation decision.
How current is this data? ▼
Every figure traces to the most recent release from its federal source agency, current as of 2026; vintage varies by series (cost and wage data typically lag 1–2 years, crime by about a year). The methodology page documents the cadence per dimension.

Using Idaho's Life Score

A state score averages urban, suburban and rural geography, use it to filter, then read the metro pages for the real decision.

State scores are a baseline; metro- and neighborhood-level conditions vary widely within a state.

State rankings → Life Score methodology →

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

All states → | Rankings →
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This state's Life Score is computed directly from federal data sources. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.