Boise, Idaho’s Top 20 Highest Paying Jobs for 2024 Revealed

Money can’t buy you happiness, but if you’re putting in long hours without receiving an occasional “good job” from your supervisor, a healthy bank account can take a little of the sting out of it. 

In a perfect world, every Idahoan would be in a job that they love where they’re shown appreciation for a job well done and are surrounded by like minded colleagues that just want to work hard. But the world’s not perfect. You might be in a job where you can’t see any more opportunity for growth and the most appreciation you’re going to see is an occasional pizza party. 

READ MORE: How Much Money Single People Need to Make to Survive in Idaho

While we think selfcare, boundaries and work-life balance all contribute to happiness, GoBankingRates did try to discover if there was an amount of money that would make you “happy” in Idaho. To lock it down, they looked at a study done by Purdue University that researched the amount of money it takes for someone to reach an ideal “life evaluation.” That’s a fancy way of saying the thoughts you have about your own life when you reflect on it. They also took into account “emotional well-being,” which means the day-to-day emotional experiences you have. Nationally, that number worked out to be a jaw dropping $105,000! 

Get our free mobile app

They adjusted that number for the cost-of-living index in every state and found that Idaho’s is a touch lower. In order to be “happy” in Idaho, GoBanking Rates says you have to make $103,950. While the fact that the number is lower than the national average is good, that’s actually up $105 from 2023.

According to the most recent numbers from the Idaho Department of Labor, about 35 career fields have an average salary matching or exceeding that number. That’s four more options than a year ago. 

Boise’s average wage is about $58,390, more than $15,000 less than what GoBankingRates considers a “living wage” in Idaho. They explain living wage as the number where you can make ends meet, but still have enough to slide into savings. 

So which occupations are making enough to be “happy?” Here’s a look at the top paying careers in Boise according to the newest update from the Idaho Department of Labor’s website.