Best PlacesSoutheast Boise, Boise, ID Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Southeast Boise, Boise, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Southeast Boise, Boise ranks 655th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Southeast Boise, 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.
Southeast Boise, Boise's strengths and weaknesses
Where Southeast Boise, Boise ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Short commute17.6 minutes each way, better than 91% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA−, better than 86% of neighborhoods
Where Southeast Boise, Boise ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 25% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 34% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Southeast Boise, Boise
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Southeast Boise, Boise home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $101,218, 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 Southeast Boise, Boise's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 Southeast Boise, Boise
Southeast Boise, Boise runs younger than the country, 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 Southeast Boise, Boise.
Who works in Southeast Boise, Boise, and how
Work in Southeast Boise, Boise centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Southeast Boise, Boise
Southeast Boise, Boise has more parkland per resident than 80% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Southeast Boise, Boise and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Southeast Boise, Boise, month by month
Southeast Boise, Boise sees roughly 119 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 Southeast Boise, Boise
Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field sits about 3 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 Southeast Boise, Boise
Schools across Southeast Boise, Boise average an A−, better than 86% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Adams Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Roosevelt Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Liberty Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
Top middle schools
- East Junior High SchoolA · 64% proficient
- North Junior High SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Les Bois Junior High SchoolA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Boise Senior High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- Timberline High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Borah Senior High SchoolB · 46% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Southeast Boise, Boise school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Southeast Boise, 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 Southeast Boise, Boise against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Southeast Boise, Boise suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of neighborhoods and 21% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 62% of neighborhoods, health care access beats 73%, and it is quieter than 80%.
Common questions about living in Southeast Boise, Boise
Is Southeast Boise, Boise a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Southeast Boise, Boise ranks 655th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, state finances, and low crime, and lowest on internet speeds 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 Southeast Boise, Boise expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $543,720. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $101,218 median income, cost of living beats 77% of neighborhoods.
Is Southeast Boise, Boise safe?
Yes, Southeast Boise, Boise is safer than 97% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $209 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Southeast Boise, Boise?
July highs average about 97 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 24. That works out to about 119 pleasant days a year, more than 62% of neighborhoods.
Is Southeast Boise, Boise good for families?
Schools beat 86% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 97%, and childcare runs $974 a month.
Compare Southeast Boise, Boise with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Southeast Boise, Boise. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Southeast Boise, 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.
Southeast Boise, Boise detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Southeast Boise, Boise: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Southeast Boise, Boise: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Southeast Boise, Boise: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Southeast Boise, Boise: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Southeast Boise, 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.