Boise Is One of America’s Most Neighborly Cities… But Who Beat Us?
How would you rank your neighbors on a scale of 1 to 10? Now before you answer, I’m making one rule: You get to throw out that one neighbor.
You know the one. Take them out of the equation and think about the rest of the people living around you. Because according to a new nationwide study, we have some pretty great neighbors here in Boise.
In fact, Boise was just ranked the third most neighborly city in America and the #1 most neighborly medium-sized city in the country.
Wait…San Francisco Beat Boise?
Neighbor.com recently released its 2026 ranking of the Most Neighborly Cities in America, looking at 100 cities across the country.
Provo, Utah, took the top spot, then came San Francisco at #2 and Boise at #3.
San Francisco? Okay. I’ve been to San Francisco many times and I love the sourdough bread. Give me some clam chowder in a sourdough bowl and I’m a happy guy. The ocean is beautiful. Fisherman’s Wharf is cool, but friendlier than Boise?
Absolutely not! But, this isn’t simply a survey asking people, “Are your neighbors nice?” There is actually quite a bit of data behind the rankings.
Here’s How They Came Up With the Ranking
Neighbor surveyed 1,011 adults across the country about what they believe makes a community neighborly and then used those answers to determine how much weight to give seven different categories.
READ MORE: Rake Up Boise 2026: How to Get Help or Volunteer
Those included violent crime, property crime, charitable giving, volunteering, voter turnout, population growth and what the study calls “local sharing.”
Safety received the most weight and that's a big reason why Boise did so well.
Among the 100 cities studied, Boise ranked:
#2 for low property crime
#5 for volunteering and helping others
#10 for local sharing
#12 for low violent crime
The study also found that about 70% of adults in the Boise area volunteered or informally helped someone else, putting us fifth among the cities included in the study.
That sounds a little more like the Boise I know.
So How Did San Francisco Beat Boise?
San Francisco ranked #1 in voter turnout and #7 in charitable giving, two categories included in the overall score. Its 2024 mayoral election, held alongside the presidential election, had turnout of 75% of registered voters.
That helped San Francisco make an enormous jump from #80 in the 2024 rankings to #2 this year. Boise moved from #12 to #3.
READ MORE: Blackfoot Named Worst City to Live in Idaho, But Is It?
Neighbor also points out that changes in methodology and data sources mean you shouldn’t interpret those moves as cities suddenly becoming dramatically friendlier or less friendly in two years.
Still… I’ll give SF credit for the sourdough and clam chowder, but when we're talking about being neighborly, Boise wins hands down.
Do You Actually Know Your Boise Neighbors?
Nationwide, 34% of Americans can name two or fewer of their neighbors, and one in 10 can’t name a single neighbor.
Yet when something goes wrong, we’re still willing to show up for each other. 94% said they’d help their neighbors during a natural disaster or emergency and maybe that’s the better test of being neighborly.
Do you know the people next door? Would you grab their garbage cans when the wind blows them down the street? Keep an eye on their house while they’re gone? Loan them a tool or more importantly, would you trust them to return the tool?
That’s a whole different ranking.
Boise may officially be America’s third most neighborly city, but I want to hear from the people who actually live here.
On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rank your neighbors?
LOOK: These Things in the 1980s Scared the Heck Out of Kids
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
More From 107.9 LITE FM
