These Are The 10 Most Affordable Places In Idaho

A wise sage once said “she works hard for the money” and these places in Idaho definitely treat her right.

You see, these are the places in Idaho where the cost of living is the lowest; where your salary goes the furthest. And when if you have the luxury of choosing where to live in the Gem State, then the cost of living should play a role in the decision.

So we did the hard for you and crunched the numbers to find the cities that have lower food, energy, and housing costs. After the dust settled on our analysis of the 31 largest places in Idaho, we were left with this set of the best value for your money:

1. Weiser
2. Rupert
3. Burley
4. Blackfoot
5. Jerome
6. Caldwell
7. Payette
8. Pocatello
9. Nampa
10. Emmett

So listen up Hailey as we explain how we created this ranking, you could learn some things from the rest of the state.

How We Determined The Most Affordable Places To Live In The Gem State

There are basic necessities that you have to buy no matter where in the country you live. Those things include:

• Housing
• Food
• Gas
• Health Insurance
• Utilities
• Transportation

You can then compare the cost of these things in each of the places in Idaho to figure out which is the least expensive.

What you are left with is a “Cost of Living Index” that normalizes to 100 for an average place in the United States.

So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 31 places in Idaho that have more than 5,000 people.

And just so you can better understand how the cost of living index works, 100 is the average cost of a place in the United States. A score of 90 means that the place cost 10% less than average. A score of 90 means it’s 10% less expensive.

San Francisco has a score of 243 meaning it’s almost 2.5 times as expensive as the average place in the country.

1. Weiser

Population: 5,469
Services: 98
Groceries: 89
Healthcare: 106
Housing: 56
Transportation: 92
Utiltiies: 86

2. Rupert

Population: 5,496
Services: 93
Groceries: 93
Healthcare: 98
Housing: 55
Transportation: 99
Utiltiies: 94

3. Burley

Population: 10,157
Services: 93
Groceries: 93
Healthcare: 98
Housing: 60
Transportation: 99
Utiltiies: 94

4. Blackfoot

Population: 11,781
Services: 87
Groceries: 103
Healthcare: 106
Housing: 64
Transportation: 90
Utiltiies: 83

5. Jerome

Population: 10,757
Services: 93
Groceries: 93
Healthcare: 98
Housing: 61
Transportation: 99
Utiltiies: 94

6. Caldwell

Population: 46,229
Services: 98
Groceries: 89
Healthcare: 106
Housing: 65
Transportation: 92
Utiltiies: 86

7. Payette

Population: 7,462
Services: 98
Groceries: 89
Healthcare: 106
Housing: 67
Transportation: 92
Utiltiies: 86

8. Pocatello

Population: 54,145
Services: 87
Groceries: 103
Healthcare: 106
Housing: 72
Transportation: 90
Utiltiies: 83

9. Nampa

Population: 81,667
Services: 98
Groceries: 89
Healthcare: 106
Housing: 73
Transportation: 92
Utiltiies: 86

10. Emmett

Population: 6,555
Services: 98
Groceries: 89
Healthcare: 106
Housing: 73
Transportation: 92
Utiltiies: 86

Detailed List Of Affordable Places In Idaho

City	Rank	Population	Services	Grociers	Healthcare
Weiser	1	5,469	98	89	106
Rupert	2	5,496	93	93	98
Burley	3	10,157	93	93	98
Blackfoot	4	11,781	87	103	106
Jerome	5	10,757	93	93	98
Caldwell	6	46,229	98	89	106
Payette	7	7,462	98	89	106
Pocatello	8	54,145	87	103	106
Nampa	9	81,667	98	89	106
Emmett	10	6,555	98	89	106
Middleton	11	5,542	98	89	106
Mountain Home	12	13,879	98	89	106
Idaho Falls	13	57,021	87	103	106
Chubbuck	14	13,773	87	103	106
Twin Falls	15	44,097	93	93	98
Rexburg	16	25,402	87	103	106
Lewiston	17	31,862	95	92	114
Preston	18	5,162	101	95	91
Kuna	19	15,192	98	89	106
Rathdrum	20	6,840	95	92	114
Ammon	21	13,575	87	103	106
Garden City	22	11,095	98	89	106
Post Falls	23	27,609	95	92	114
Coeur D’Alene	24	44,426	95	92	114
Moscow	25	23,866	95	92	114
Sandpoint	26	7,397	95	92	114
Star	27	5,745	98	89	106
Hayden	28	13,258	95	92	114
Meridian	29	75,210	98	89	106
Eagle	30	19,952	98	89	106
Hailey	31	7,905	93	93	98