Meridian is the third largest city in Idaho after Boise and Nampa. Home to nearly 97,000 people, packed with beautiful nature and epicenter of Treasure Valley, the city denotes it’s build for businesses and designed for living. Once a farmers’ countryside, Meridian has now got 7 times more population than it did back in 1988. Meridian is also making efforts to reduce crime rate, build new schools and parks almost every year. People living in Meridian Idaho feel safe as there is less crime rate and there is a growing number of police force to support the rapid population growth.
Meridian has also been selected as one of the 50 fastest growing suburban communities in the U.S. Today we will take a closer look at the cost of living in Meridian Idaho and try to make it an apple to apple comparison to other options when it comes to moving.
Living In Meridian Idaho
If you are considering to live in Meridian Idaho you would first think of the housing and job market to create a base pay and a shelter to live. Let’s put it this way, 10$ in Los Angeles can’t get you through as much as 10$ in Meridian.
One of the first things that we look at when considering to move to Meridian Idaho is housing. We’ll consider Mark, who is looking for a Studio apartment to rent. Mark considers that the national median rent for a comfortable studio to live alone is $845 as of 2022. He finds out that the median rent for the same studio in Meridian Idaho is $540, a significant drop which Mark benefits from. Across the states, renting in Idaho is ranked the 15th least expensive but things get different you’re considering buying a house in Meridian.
Renting is the cheaper option in Meridian. The median value of a house in Meridian is $242,000, a $37,000 gap as opposed to the national median of $205,000.
Cost Of Transportation
We’ll continue our costing with Mark, who drivers a reliable Honda to work. According to data 88.6% of people in Idaho drive to work. This applies to all cites in Idaho, including here Meridian. Another cost of living in Meridian for Mark would be the average yearly cost of fuel.
On average, daily commuter drivers about 10,000 miles per year. Considering this data Mark would be liable for paying up to $1,900 just in fuel. On top of paying for gas, Mark is liable for insurance, tax road and car maintenance. Owning a car in Meridian is not the best option as it’s ranked the 9th most expensive state to own a car. The national median expense for owning a car, including car payments is $9,759 meanwhile Meridian tops up at $9,805. We will get to this point later as number might be the same but income is not.
Health Care In Meridian Idaho
Health care is also a key point to the cost of living in Meridian. According to data, the national median the average American pays is inline with the cost of health care in Meridian, if we were to consider basic health care. If you are very keen on water and air quality living in Meridian Idaho is not the best option.
Cost Of Food
Another very essential piece of the puzzle for Mark is food. Mark lives a healthy life and cooks at home. Pulling up data from annual food cost Mark finds out cost of living in Meridian Idaho is almost the same like everywhere else he has been.
The median food cost in Meridian Idaho is $3,212, a slight $27 down from the national median of $3239.
Income In Meridian
There is a 57.47% growth in future jobs for Meridian but what concerts Mark the most is his actual income. Numbers for the unemployment rate seem low for Meridian but according to sources this is because people in Meridian do work for less than 10$ per hour.
Mark sticks to the yearly median income of Meridian, which is $36,677 as of 2020 according to United States Census Bureau. What about taxes? What’s like paying for taxes in Meridian Idaho?
Idaho is a red state, which taxes it’s citizens low. Mark would have to pay 6.9% in income tax. The median annual tax for Mark would total $5,993 which is pretty close to the national median.
Conclusion
The cost of living in Meridian Idaho for Mark would be roughly $25,500. This leaves him to $11,167 in net savings. Is it a good decision for Mark to hire a Meridian moving company and Seattle there? To wrap up, we considered Mark who gets a median pay. If Mark works from home for a company that pays him the same salary as in California, he would be better off from living in Meridian to stack up his savings and maxing out his 401k quicker.
