Winter tourism benefits are for people who regularly visit Idaho’s winter playgrounds and industry stakeholders that collect revenue from the industry. However, the state’s industry has challenges, particularly with people who support the industry on the labor front, including wage disparity, housing costs and the seasonal nature of employment.
Great promise in winter tourism
With the arrival of the 2025 ski and snowboarding season – two of Idaho’s premier ski resorts -Bogus Basin and Sun Valley, are both currently ranked top 10 nationally [1]. Other publications, annually, have more state ski destinations in their esteemed rankings. The state’s reputation for world-class skiing and snowboarding is a draw for stay-and-play winter sports enthusiasts visiting the state’s 18 ski resorts.
When looking at Idaho winter tourism, Figure 1 highlights its growth in the past decade by way of annual lodging tax revenue. The prime winter lodging months from November to March, brought in total lodging tax receipts of $6.5 million for the 2024 fiscal year, growing by one and a half times from a decade ago [2]. Revenue levelled off since fiscal year 2023, similar to the levelling-off experienced during the pandemic. At the start of fiscal year 2025, lodging tax receipts have outpaced by 9%, at this time last season, leaving the receipts on track for record revenue growth in Idaho [2].
Figure 1. Winter lodging tax revenue, Idaho
Source: Idaho Department of Commerce and Idaho State Tax Commission
Expanding industry landscape
To keep pace with winter tourism growth, including a demand for services and amenities, Idaho ski areas and resorts have expanded their operations and workforces in several relevant industry categories. The Idaho ski industry job growth shown in Figure 2, demonstrates growth percentages in select ski-related categories. There was substantial industry growth yearly, from 2021 to 2024, with a combined average growth rate of 43%, or about 3,700 additional jobs. The recreational goods rental industry — including skis, snowboards and other equipment — showed the greatest job growth at 90%. Also near the top was sports and recreational instruction — including ski instructors — at 70% job growth. The ski facilities category also grew by 24%, or 203 additional jobs [3].
Figure 2. Idaho ski industry job growth, 2021-2024
Source: Idaho Department of Labor
Industry housing affordability
The employment growth also drives demand for workforce housing near Idaho ski areas and resorts. It’s inherently expensive for employees to live around most resort towns, compounded by employment being largely seasonal.
For example, compared to the current statewide median home price of $559,000, the median home price for Driggs in Teton Valley, nearest to Grand Targhee Resort, is nearly $900,000 [6]. The current median price for a rental is $2,200 a month, compared with the statewide rate of $1,795 a month [7]. Other ski resort towns in Idaho are priced similarly to Driggs for housing, as shown in Figure 3. This includes Ketchum, nearest to the Sun Valley ski area, priced much higher.
As a result of high resort-area housing prices, affordable workforce housing in support of the state’s winter tourism industry has become scarce. Many industry workers are then forced to commute farther away from work or find other creative solutions as a result of being priced out of the housing market.
Figure 3. Idaho ski resort town housing prices versus statewide, Dec. 2024
Source: Zillow.com and Realtor.com
Wages versus housing costs
The ability of ski industry workers to afford to buy or rent housing near resorts becomes prohibitive based on wages earned. Weekly wages of ski-relevant industries during the peak of the last ski season — the first quarter of 2024 — are listed in Figure 4. Average weekly wages of $462 for these ski-related industry categories lags behind the statewide average weekly wage rate of $1,142 for all combined industries during quarter one (Q1) in 2024 [4].
Despite relatively lower wages, some accept the trade-off to work in the ski industry for resort perks like free or discounted lift passes, but they are likely to hold down supplemental employment elsewhere out of necessity to afford living expenses.
Figure 4. Weekly wages of ski-relevant industries
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Anticipating the way forward
Idaho has benefited from unprecedented growth in its thriving winter tourism industry. This is underscored by the decades-long challenge for local governments and the private sector to try and solve workforce housing affordability and shortages in winter resort communities. Keeping wages competitive with other industries to attract and retain employees is also part of the bigger conversation.
The industry is also made aware of isolated issues such as current labor disputes in the neighboring Utah ski industry over higher wages for employees, such as ski patrol workers, which could ripple into other intermountain states [5]. Despite a few challenges, not uncommon to other industries, the winter tourism industry continues to grow in Idaho, while developing solutions of its own to forge ahead for the future.
Sources:
- Newsweek Reader’s Choice Awards
- Idaho Tax Commission
- Idaho Department of Labor
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Associated Press, Mead Gruver
- Snowboarder.com, Josh Sullivan
- Realtor.com
- Zillow.com
Ryan.Whitesides@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 696-2347
This Idaho Department of Labor project is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for SFY25 as part of the Workforce Information grant (40%) and state/nonfederal funds (60%) totaling $885,703.
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