City comparison
Idaho Falls, ID is about 950 miles (1,600 km) from Independence, MO in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,200 miles, or about 20 hours (about 2 days at 10 h/day) behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Idaho Falls, ID to Independence, MO takes about 1 h 56 min, covering roughly 950 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Idaho Falls, ID is on Mountain Time and Independence, MO is on Central Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Idaho Falls, it's 1 p.m. in Independence, which puts Idaho Falls 1 hours behind.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
Independence has a population of 122,218, vs 65,685 in Idaho Falls — about 1.9× larger by population. By land area, Independence covers about 78 sq mi vs 27 sq mi for Idaho Falls.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Idaho Falls | Independence | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $931/mo | $1,020/mo | 9.6% higher in Independence |
| Median home value | $266,800 | $150,800 | 76.9% higher in Idaho Falls |
| Median household income | $66,463 | $57,415 | 15.8% higher in Idaho Falls |
| Groceries index | 96.9 | 94.3 | 2.7% higher in Idaho Falls |
| Utilities index | 74.6 | 89.3 | 19.6% higher in Independence |
| Transportation index | 99.5 | 93.7 | 6.2% higher in Idaho Falls |
| Healthcare index | 99.4 | 93.9 | 5.9% higher in Idaho Falls |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Idaho Falls, you'd need $100,378 in Independence to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Idaho Falls and Independence have nearly identical overall cost-of-living indices. Housing costs are roughly 4% higher in Independence than in Idaho Falls. If you earn $80,000 in Idaho Falls, you'd need about $80,303 in Independence to keep the same standard of living.