Oregon vs Idaho: which really costs more?
A no-sales-tax state next to one that charges it — with income tax running the other direction.
Income tax shown is the effective state rate on a $75,000 salary for a single filer; sales tax is the combined state and local rate in each state's representative county. Both figures come from the same verified datasets the calculator uses.
What things actually cost in each
Gross income required at a $75,000 salary, using each category's default assumptions — sorted by the biggest difference between the two states.
| Category | Oregon | Idaho | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | $1,343,409 | $1,232,858 | $110,552 cheaper in Idaho |
| Car payment or lease | $18,877 | $17,875 | $1,001 cheaper in Idaho |
| Funeral | $12,987 | $12,298 | $689 cheaper in Idaho |
| Phone plan | $11,186 | $10,592 | $593 cheaper in Idaho |
| Wedding | $48,765 | $48,966 | $201 cheaper in Oregon |
| Rent | $2,922 | $2,767 | $155 cheaper in Idaho |
| Coffee habit | $26,696 | $26,805 | $109 cheaper in Oregon |
| Childcare | $1,786 | $1,691 | $95 cheaper in Idaho |
| Hotel stay | $1,136 | $1,075 | $60 cheaper in Idaho |
| Health insurance premium | $731 | $692 | $39 cheaper in Idaho |
| Student loan payment | $649 | $615 | $34 cheaper in Idaho |
| Domestic flight | $532 | $504 | $28 cheaper in Idaho |
| Utilities | $341 | $323 | $18 cheaper in Idaho |
| Car insurance | $268 | $254 | $14 cheaper in Idaho |
| Pet annual cost | $2,513 | $2,523 | $10 cheaper in Oregon |
| Laptop or phone purchase | $1,948 | $1,956 | $8 cheaper in Oregon |
| Cannabis (legal states) | $115 | $109 | $6 cheaper in Idaho |
| Internet service | $114 | $108 | $6 cheaper in Idaho |
| Gas fill-up | $73 | $69 | $4 cheaper in Idaho |
| Haircut | $68 | $65 | $4 cheaper in Idaho |
| Rideshare trip | $36 | $34 | $2 cheaper in Idaho |
| Weekly groceries | $284 | $285 | $1 cheaper in Oregon |
| Food delivery | $59 | $58 | $1 cheaper in Idaho |
| Concert ticket | $224 | $223 | $1 cheaper in Idaho |
| Pizza delivery | $62 | $61 | $1 cheaper in Idaho |
| Restaurant dinner | $156 | $156 | $1 cheaper in Oregon |
| Gym membership | $73 | $73 | $0 cheaper in Oregon |
| Streaming bundle | $73 | $73 | $0 cheaper in Oregon |
| Soft drinks | $39 | $39 | $0 cheaper in Oregon |
| Bar drink | $18 | $18 | $0 cheaper in Oregon |
| Cigarettes or vape | $15 | $15 | $0 cheaper in Oregon |
| Fast food meal | $19 | $20 | $0 cheaper in Oregon |
Across the 32 categories we can compute for both states, Idaho comes out cheaper more often. That is not the whole picture — housing costs, wages, and property tax vary far more than sales tax does, and none of those are modeled here. See limitations.