Idaho Census Thread

[skizzo]

Originally Posted by el conquistador

I grew up there and I can definitively say yes. It was maybe 40K into the early 90's. Also factor in that it is right next to Ammon. The two have grown into each other. Ammon was just a small farm community, but now it's new subdivisions, retail, restaurant, business, etc.

Pocatello has grown a bit but not nearly at the same pace. When I was growing up, Idaho Falls and Pocatello generally had identical populations, but IF took off.

Twin Falls and surrounding area are growing fast, and the panhandle cities (Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Sandpoint) have grown a lot.

From what I've seen in pictures, Twin Falls and Idaho Falls seem to be surrounded by absolutely gorgeous nature

[jimthemanincda]

Idaho surpassed 2 million population as of July (2,001,619) and was the 7th fatest growing state from July 2023-July 2024. Its growth has slowed from being one of the top 2 or 3 fastest growing states for a few years in a row.

Even if Idaho keeps growing at this somewhat lower (but still impressive) rate, the state should pass Nebraska in population any day now as the 37th most populous state...Nebraska's population was 2,005,465 and it had gained 17,601 residents over the last year while Idaho added 30,497 residents.

Idaho will pass New Mexico in the next 3-4 years on the current growth pace, placing it as the 36th most populous state by 2029...


https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-state-total.html
https://idahoatwork.com/2024/12/20/idahos-population-surpasses-2-million-in-2024/

[jimthemanincda]

Hot off the presses this morning, here are the 2024 county census estimates...population estimates are for 7/1/2024:

1. Ada 535,799
2. Canyon 266,892
3. Kootenai 188,323
4. Bonneville 133,644
5. Twin Falls 96,509
6. Bannock 91,010
7. Madison 55,549
8. Bonner 53,955
9. Bingham 50,899
10. Nez Perce 42,847
11. Latah 42,180

No change in rankings in Idaho's 11 largest counties and no major population thresholds surpassed over the past year.
https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html

[jimthemanincda]

2024 metro & micro area census estimates:

1. Boise metro (Ada, Boise, Canyon, Gen, Owyhee) 845,877
2. Coeur d'Alene metro (Kootenai) 188,323
3. Idaho Falls metro (Bonneville, Butte, Jefferson) 171,233
4. Twin Falls metro (Twin Falls, Jerome) 122,565
5. Pocatello metro (Bannock, Power) 91,010
6. Rexburg micro (Fremont, Madison) 69,948
7. Lewiston metro (Nez Perce, Asotin WA) 65,370
8. Sandpoint micro (Bonner) 53,955
9. Blackfoot micro (Bingham) 50,889
10. Burley micro (Cassia, Minidoka) 48,667
11. Moscow micro (Latah) 42,180
12. Hailey micro (Blaine, Camas) 32,064
12. Mountain Home (Elmore) 29,729

There were no changes in the order of the 12 metro & micro areas in Idaho over the past year.

Boise was the 21st fastest growing metro area in the U.S. between 2020-2024 (in % terms), with growth of 10.6%, Coeur d'Alene was 27th, at 9.9%, and Idaho Falls was 35th, at 8.8%.
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-ki...ge-counties-metro-micro-puerto-rico.html

[jimthemanincda]

Here are the 2024 city census estimates for Idaho:

1. Boise 237,963
2. Meridian 139,740
3. Nampa 117,350
4. Caldwell 73,088
5. Idaho Falls 69,523
6. Pocatello 58,231
7. Coeur d'Alene 57,355
8. Twin Falls 55,589
9. Post Falls 45,800
10. Rexburg 40,695
11. Lewiston 34,693
12. Eagle 33,451
13. Kuna 29,127
14. Moscow 26,894
15. Ammon 20,095
16. Star 18,208
17. Hayden 16,924
18. Mountain Home 16,912
19. Chubbuck 16,577
20. Jerome 13,481
21. Blackfoot 13,224
22. Garden City 12,936
23. Rathdrum 12,626
24. Burley 12,211
25. Middleton 11,730

---Caldwell passed 70,000 population
---Rexburg passed 40,000 population
---Ammon passed 20,000 population
---Star was the big mover, surpassing three cities (Chubbuck, Mountain Home, and Hayden) in population over the course of one year
---Hayden passed Mountain Home in population
---Rathdrum passed Burley in population

In the next few years:
---Coeur d'Alene will surpass Pocatello as the state's 6th largest city in the next 3-4 years
---Twin Falls will be 1-2 years behind Coeur d'Alene in passing Pocatello
---Meridian should hit 150,000 residents in about 4 more years
---Idaho Falls should hit 70,000 residents next year
---Coeur d'Alene & Pocatello should hit 60,000 residents in about 4 years, and Twin Falls will be there in about 6 years
---Post Falls should hit 50,000 residents in about 4 years

Source: https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html

[jimthemanincda]

Idaho is now the 37th most populous state, surpassing Nebraska over the past year according to the Census Bureau. Idaho has 2,029,733 people. In about 3-4 years (2028 or 2029), Idaho is set to pass New Mexico.

Between July 1, 2024-July 1, 2025, Idaho was the second fastest-growing state in the U.S., at 1.4% (South Carolina was first at 1.5%).

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026/population-growth-slows.html

[Evo5Boise]

Originally Posted by jimthemanincda

Idaho is now the 37th most populous state, surpassing Nebraska over the past year according to the Census Bureau. Idaho has 2,029,733 people. In about 3-4 years (2028 or 2029), Idaho is set to pass New Mexico.

Between July 1, 2024-July 1, 2025, Idaho was the second fastest-growing state in the U.S., at 1.4% (South Carolina was first at 1.5%).

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026/population-growth-slows.html

I remember being a kid back in 1990, when it was a big deal in the local media that Idaho state had broken 1 million. Now the Boise metro alone is closing in on 1 million in the valley. Crazy!

[jimthemanincda]

Idaho is still on track to gain a new U.S. House seat (going from 2 seats to 3 seats) after the 2030 Congressional reapportionment...

https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/product...ould-reshape-the-congressional-landscape
https://thearp.org/blog/apportionment/2030-apportionment-forecast-2025/

[jimthemanincda]

From March, here are the 2025 county census estimates...population estimates are for 7/1/2025:

1. Ada 546,141
2. Canyon 275,123
3. Kootenai 191,864
4. Bonneville 135,771
5. Twin Falls 97,539
6. Bannock 91,591
7. Madison 55,172
8. Bonner 54,420
9. Bingham 51,153
10. Nez Perce 42,905
11. Latah 41,842

No change in rankings in Idaho's 11 largest counties over the past year.

Given current trends, Ada should surpass 600K people around 2031. Canyon should have 300K around 2028. Kootenai will pass 200K around 2028 as well, along with Twin Falls passing 100K the same year.

[jimthemanincda]

2025 metro & micro area census estimates (released this March):

1. Boise metro (Ada, Boise, Canyon, Gen, Owyhee) 864,243
2. Coeur d'Alene metro (Kootenai) 191,864
3. Idaho Falls metro (Bonneville, Butte, Jefferson) 173,851
4. Twin Falls metro (Twin Falls, Jerome) 123,901
5. Pocatello metro (Bannock, Power) 91,591
6. Rexburg micro (Fremont, Madison) 69,380
7. Lewiston metro (Nez Perce, Asotin WA) 65,450
8. Sandpoint micro (Bonner) 54,520
9. Blackfoot micro (Bingham) 51,153
10. Burley micro (Cassia, Minidoka) 49,308
11. Moscow micro (Latah) 41,842
12. Hailey micro (Blaine, Camas) 32,436
12. Mountain Home (Elmore) 29,465

There were no changes in the order of the 12 metro & micro areas in Idaho over the past year.

Given recent growth rates, the Boise metro should pass 900K around 2027 and the Coeur d’Alene metro should pass 200K around 2028.

Between 2020-2025, the Boise metro grew 13.0%, the Coeur d'Alene metro grew by 12.0%, and the Idaho Falls metro grew by 10.4%.

[jimthemanincda]

Here are the 2025 city census estimates for Idaho, just released last week:

1. Boise 238,429
2. Meridian 142,988
3. Nampa 120,384
4. Caldwell 76,629
5. Idaho Falls 71,785
6. Pocatello 58,771
7. Coeur d'Alene 58,179
8. Twin Falls 56,216
9. Post Falls 46,715
10. Rexburg 40,334
11. Lewiston 34,717
12. Eagle 34,658
13. Kuna 31,525
14. Moscow 26,721
15. Star 20,874
16. Ammon 20,119
17. Hayden 16,924
18. Mountain Home 17,363
19. Chubbuck 16,823
20. Jerome 13,731
21. Blackfoot 13,361
22. Rathdrum 13,227
23. Garden City 13,047
24. Middleton 12,600
25. Burley 12,409

- Nampa passed 120K population
- Caldwell passed 75K population
- Idaho Falls passed 70K population
- Kuna passed 30K population
- Star passed 20K population & passed Ammon in population
- Rathdrum passed Garden City in population
- Middleton passed Burley in population

In the next few years:
---Coeur d'Alene will surpass Pocatello as the state's 6th largest city in the next 2-3 years
---Twin Falls will be 2-3 years behind Coeur d'Alene in passing Pocatello
---Meridian should hit 150,000 residents in about 3 more years
---Coeur d'Alene & Pocatello should hit 60,000 residents in about 4 years, and Twin Falls will be there in about 6 years
---Post Falls should hit 50,000 residents in about 4 years

[skizzo]

Boise city is stalling

[Evo5Boise]

Originally Posted by skizzo

Boise city is stalling

Boise is starting to run out of easily developable land....kind of. The city is boxed in by mountains to the north, and suburban growth to the west has already taken up much of the available space. There is some development happening to the southeast, and the city is also focusing more on infill and higher-density development within existing areas. Still, the real long-term pressure will likely be to the south. The challenge is that there isn’t much infrastructure there yet...limited roads, utilities, and development support...and the airport also creates a major constraint. A lot of it is still desert. Even so, I think that southern expansion will eventually become part of Boise’s growth plan.