What $1500 Rent Looks Like in Boise vs. 5 Other Major Cities

One of the things that attracted people to Boise, Idaho in the first place used to be because it was so affordable. If you've lived around here for a few years now you remember the good old days when you could rent an apartment downtown for under $1,000 a month! Good luck finding any apartment in Ada County with a rent payment as low as that nowadays.

Rent in Boise has always been below the national average - until this year. In 2021 rent prices finally matched up to the national average with the average price of an 881 sq ft apartment costing $1,481 a month.

New apartments keep popping up all over but that doesn't mean they're any cheaper. The Jules on 3rd just started leasing out units with 1 bedrooms priced between $1,775 to-$1,915 / mo. The brand new Addison apartments on Parkcenter has similar rates. The cheapest 1 bedroom available is currently listed at $1,675 for 556 - 577 sq. ft.

The price of rent in Boise is now almost comparable to other U.S. cities - some that are notoriously known for having outrageous rent prices. While it's still true that you can probably find a much nicer 1 bedroom apartment in Boise, Idaho compared to New York City, the difference may surprise you.

We did some apartment hunting in 5 major cities: Miami, LA, New York City, Chicago, and Dallas. We wanted to know what $1500 a month rent in Boise looks like in comparison to other cities. After some research, it's fair to say that people aren't moving here because it's necessarily affordable anymore.