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CityLedger

Blacksburg vs Idaho Falls

Metro-area medians — Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metro Area vs Idaho Falls, ID Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Blacksburg comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 9 clearly-decided measures.

Blacksburg and Idaho Falls cost about the same to live in, but Idaho Falls households earn about 31% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Idaho Falls.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Blacksburg, VA
$57,747
take-home / yr · 23% to tax
$62,288
real value after local prices
Idaho Falls, ID
$58,173
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$61,616
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Blacksburg leaves you about $672/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Blacksburg
Idaho Falls
Livability (CityLedger)
49/100
59/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
92.7
94.4
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$70,670
$90,843
Median household income
$65,518
$85,767
Median rent
$1,123/mo
$1,257/mo
Median home value
$270,600
$410,400
Unemployment
3%
5%
Bachelor's degree or higher
36.5%
34.2%
Average commute
22 min
21.2 min
Air quality (median AQI)
38
43
Avg temperature
58°F
44°F

Choose Blacksburg for

  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Unemployment
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Blacksburg profile →

Choose Idaho Falls for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median household income
  • + Average commute
Full Idaho Falls profile →

Blacksburg vs Idaho Falls — frequently asked

Is Blacksburg cheaper than Idaho Falls?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Blacksburg and Idaho Falls metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Blacksburg or Idaho Falls?
Idaho Falls has the higher median household income — $85,767 versus $65,518 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 31% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Blacksburg or Idaho Falls?
A paycheck stretches further in Idaho Falls. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $90,843 there versus $70,670 in Blacksburg.
Which has cheaper rent, Blacksburg or Idaho Falls?
Blacksburg has cheaper rent — a median of $1,123/mo versus $1,257/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).