Best PlacesDowntown, Boise, ID Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown, Boise, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Downtown, Boise ranks 3,022nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown, Boise
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Downtown, Boise's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown, Boise ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Short commute13.9 minutes each way, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown, Boise ranks low
- Household income$34,584 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown, Boise
A household needs to earn about $212,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown, Boise home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $34,584, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Downtown, Boise's effective rate of 0.73%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown, Boise
Downtown, Boise runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Downtown, Boise.
Who works in Downtown, Boise, and how
Work in Downtown, Boise centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 57%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 20%
Life in Downtown, Boise
Downtown, Boise has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 94% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown, Boise and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown, Boise, month by month
Downtown, Boise sees roughly 118 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 66° | 52° | 38° |
| July | 97° | 80° | 62° |
| October | 68° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Downtown, Boise
Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field sits about 4 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.6 million passengers in 2025, with 59 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Downtown, Boise
Schools across Downtown, Boise average an A−, better than 87% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Roosevelt Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Longfellow Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Lowell Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Junior High SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Boise Senior High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown, Boise school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown, Boise measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Downtown, Boise against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown, Boise
Is Downtown, Boise a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown, Boise ranks 3,022nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and biking, and lowest on low incomes and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown, Boise expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $817,099. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $34,584 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown, Boise safe?
Downtown, Boise is safer than 17% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $909 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown, Boise with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown, Boise. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown, Boise represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Downtown, Boise detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown, Boise: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown, Boise: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown, Boise: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown, Boise: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown, Boise detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.