Compare / Boise City to Columbia
Boise City, ID vs Columbia, SC
Simple answer
You'd likely save $314 a month in Columbia.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is housing prices. The BEA housing price parity differs by 26.1 points (Boise City 105.6, Columbia 79.5).
Idaho taxes wages at a flat 5.30%. South Carolina taxes wages at rates up to 6.00%. Combined sales tax differs by 1.5 percentage points, higher in South Carolina. The effective property tax gap is 0.02 percentage points, higher in South Carolina.
After a move from Idaho to South Carolina, these benefit results change for a family of four at $40,000 and a single adult at $18,000: Marketplace premium tax credits, Medicaid and CHIP.
A $75,000 salary in Boise City lines up with about $71,395 in Columbia on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Boise City
Boise City, ID
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,540
- HUD area
- Boise City, ID HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,628
- All-items price parity
- 98.4
- Goods price parity
- 96.2
- Utilities price parity
- 70.7
- Mean commute
- 23.8 min
- Median household income
- $88,695
Columbia
Columbia, SC
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,226
- HUD area
- Columbia, SC HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,257
- All-items price parity
- 93.7
- Goods price parity
- 96.3
- Utilities price parity
- 88.3
- Mean commute
- 25.8 min
- Median household income
- $70,788
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$71,395
Salary in Columbia that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$71,354
Gross salary in Columbia whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$59,708
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | Idaho | South Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | 5.30% flat | up to 6.00% |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 6.0% | 7.5% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 0.43% | 0.45% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $1,713 a year in Idaho and $1,786 in South Carolina. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in South Carolina
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Idaho and once in South Carolina. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
Boise CityLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
Boise CityLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
WIC
Boise CityLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
School meals
Boise CityLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
LIHEAP
Boise CityMaybe
ColumbiaMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
Boise CityLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
Boise CityLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
Boise CityUnlikely
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Lifeline phone and internet
Boise CityLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
SSI
Boise CityUnlikely
ColumbiaUnlikely
| Program | Boise City | Columbia |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Unlikely | Likely eligible |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
Marketplace premium tax credits changes. In Boise City the result is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” In Columbia it is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” Idaho expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.
Related comparisons
From Boise City
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Boise City.
- Boise City and San Francisco · rent gap $2,157
- Boise City and San Jose · rent gap $1,732
- Boise City and Boston · rent gap $1,468
- Boise City and New York · rent gap $1,431
- Boise City and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,424
- Boise City and San Diego · rent gap $1,283
- Boise City and Miami · rent gap $1,024
- Boise City and Seattle · rent gap $1,009
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.