Is Idaho a Great Place to Live?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#12

12th out of 50 states overall.

Better than most states for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#22

22nd cheapest state, about 7% below average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $69,700 here.

How we measure cost ›

Idaho ranks 12th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 22nd for affordability. It does best on green space, economy, and safety, and struggles most with healthcare, education, and walkability. A typical household earns about $62,100 a year, and the cost of living runs about 7% below average.

Why Idaho ranks #12 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Idaho scores on each, best to worst.

Green space
#6 of 50
Economy
#7 of 50
Safety
#8 of 50
Dog friendly
#19 of 50
Cost of living
#22 of 50
Climate
#25 of 50
Air quality
#30 of 50
Healthcare
#31 of 50
Education
#36 of 50
Walkability
#43 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Idaho at a glance

Typical household income

$62,100

42nd highest

Typical home price

$446,000

14th highest

Overall cost of living

7% below average

22nd cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 8%

20th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 21 min

one way

Taxes in Idaho

See your real Idaho take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Idaho taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.