What salary do you need to live in Pocatello, ID?

What housing costs in Pocatello

Census figures put the median gross rent in the Pocatello, ID metro at $709 for a one-bedroom, $991 for a two-bedroom and $1,168 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $282 a month, and the third bedroom another $177.

Homeowners in Pocatello report a median home value of $300,700. With median household income at $66,499, a typical home costs 4.5× a typical income, close to the middle of the range across US metros.

The Regional Price Parity, BEA's index of local prices with the US at 100, is 88.9 here. Below 100 means a paycheck stretches further: $100,000 in Pocatello has the buying power of roughly $112,478 at national average prices.

Income needed for each grade in Pocatello

For two bedrooms, $117,000 is where Pocatello turns Comfortable. Below that, $58,000 marks the start of Okay and $29,000 the start of Tight; under $29,000 the score reads Stretched. Rent at the Comfortable line is 10% of gross pay.

Royal, the top band, starts at $268,000. At that income rent is 4% of pay and the median home 1.1× income.

Each figure is the lowest income, to the next $1,000, at which the calculator itself would show that grade for a two-bedroom in Pocatello.

Scores at $50K, $75K, $100K and $150K in Pocatello

On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 58 and a three-bedroom 50, both Okay; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.

Of the four salaries, $150,000 is the first where a two-bedroom reads Comfortable or better; $100,000 still lands at Okay.

Pocatello compared with every US metro

On price level Pocatello is 314th of 387 (1 = most expensive); on two-bedroom rent it is 301st, and on median home value 152nd. The two rankings agree, both falling in the least expensive quarter.

Its nearest neighbors on the rent list are Oshkosh-Neenah, WI ($991) and Springfield, IL ($991).

Pocatello in a Idaho context

Compared with Idaho as a whole, two-bedroom rent in Pocatello is 15% lower ($991 vs. $1,163) and the median home is 28% lower ($300,700 vs. $418,600).

Scored the same way, the statewide figures turn Comfortable at $173,000, so Pocatello needs $56,000 less than Idaho overall.

Within Idaho, the metros closest to Pocatello on rent and overall prices are Twin Falls, ID, Lewiston, ID-WA, and Idaho Falls, ID. Their Comfortable lines for two bedrooms sit at $133,000, $132,000, and $150,000.

Does the typical Pocatello income clear the bar?

A household at the Pocatello median income of $66,499 would see a two-bedroom score of 49 — Okay — with rent at 18% of income. That falls $50,501 short of the $117,000 Comfortable line, a reminder that the typical household here spends a larger share on housing than the Comfortable band allows. For Idaho as a whole, the median household income of $77,800 scores 42 against statewide rents. Since a household can have two or more earners, compare it with a combined income rather than one paycheck.

All figures are pre-tax estimates from public data, not financial advice.