Tag Archives: Census

Census release shows most of Idaho’s counties grew in population in 2025

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: March 31, 2026
Media Contact: Will.Hoenike@labor.idaho.gov

Thirty-six of Idaho’s 44 counties grew in population in 2025, with 20 growing faster than in 2024, according to annual U.S. Census Bureau population estimates. This translates to 80% of Idaho’s counties growing in population — much higher than the nation’s share of 60%.

Five of Idaho’s urban counties — Ada, Canyon, Kootenai, Bonneville and Twin Falls — added at least 1,000 new residents in 2025. The three most populous counties of Ada, Canyon and Kootenai collectively accounted for more than 75% of the state’s annual population growth and over 22,000 new residents.

Annual population growth rates ranged from a low of -1% in Franklin and Fremont counties to a high of 2.9% in Canyon. Ada had the highest total increase of over 10,000 new residents while Blaine had the largest decline of 184.

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Idaho’s population growth rate second in nation for 2025

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Jan. 30, 2026
Media Contact: Will.Hoenike@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho’s population continued its pattern of growth in 2025 with an over-the-year growth rate of 1.4%, ranking second nationally, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s recent population estimate data. From April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2025, Idaho grew the fastest in the nation at 10.4% growth, adding 190,610 new residents for a total of 2,029,733 people.

Idaho’s over-the-year population growth rate has bounced between 1.4% and 1.5% over the past three years, significantly lower than the growth rates seen in 2021 and 2022 (3% and 2% respectively). However, the state’s growth in 2025 was still higher than the nation’s growth of 0.5% and that of its contiguous states, including:

Utah (1%)
Nevada (0.9%)
Washington (0.9%)
Montana (0.6%)
Wyoming (0.3%)
Oregon (0.2%)

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Several Idaho cities rank in national top 100 list for population growth for 2020-2024

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: May 16, 2025
Media Contact: Jan.Roeser@labor.idaho.gov or
Will.Hoenike@labor.idaho.gov

The cumulative population growth of five Idaho cities from 2020-2024 ranked in the top 100 nationally — Caldwell was in 51^st place at 21.5%, followed by Kuna in 54^th (21%), Post Falls in 70^th(18.6%), Meridian in 71^st (18.6%) and Nampa in 91^st(16.8%), according to recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The combined population of Idaho’s 202 incorporated* cities grew by 1.8% from 2023-2024, outpacing the state’s overall growth of 1.5%. Continue reading →

Idaho’s most populated counties drive state’s growth

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: March 14, 2025
Media Contact: Jan.Roeser@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho’s 44 counties grew by 1.5%, or over 30,497 new residents, between July 2023 and July 2024, according to recent U.S. Census population estimates. Higher population counties experienced more growth than rural areas, in line with a nationwide trend of metro areas seeing a resurgence after the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, Idaho’s growth was more evenly dispersed across less populated rural counties and more populated urban counties.

“The COVID-19 pandemic brought a rush of new residents to Idaho, particularly impacting rural areas of low population density that offered outdoor recreation,” said Labor Economist Jan Roeser. Continue reading →

Idaho’s agricultural evolution: Insights from the U.S. Census

*The charts in this article, except for the H2A chart, are sourced by the U.S. Census of Agriculture*

Idaho’s agricultural roots run deep, with certain regions of the state maintaining this traditional economic base within the broader sector of agri-business.

According to the U.S. Census of Agriculture’s 2022 data, Idaho lost 2,119 farms and 144,000 acres of farmland between 2017 and 2022. While this sounds alarming, it’s important to understand Idaho’s industries usually follow national trends.

For example, it is important to note Idaho’s neighbors and the nation all followed the same downward trend of reductions in farms with a higher number of contiguous states losing ground by a greater ratio, as shown in Figure 1. The argument can be made that production is not dropping, rather agriculture is following the route of manufacturing and producing more with less.

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U.S. Census of Agriculture data to be presented at webinar, June 11

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: June 6, 2024
Media Contact: Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov

According to the U.S. Census of Agriculture’s 2022 data, released in February, Idaho has lost 2,119 farms, or 8.5% of its total farms, between 2017 and 2022.

Idaho’s contiguous states have also lost farm operations, most to a greater degree than Idaho. Among border states, only Oregon and Utah lost less farms than Idaho.

Idaho Department of Labor economist Jan Roeser will provide an overview of the data presented in a free webinar Tuesday, June 11, from 11 a.m. to noon MDT.

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Idaho county population growth cools with recent U.S. Census updates

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: March 27, 2024
Media Contact: Jan.Roeser@labor.idaho.gov

While Idaho’s population continues to grow, its momentum has slowed in recent years based on U.S. Census updates. From July 2022 to July 2023 (the U.S. Census data period for this article), Idaho’s 44 counties saw a 1.3% population growth — a more modest growth rate compared to the 1.8% in July 2022 and 3.0% in July 2021.

Idaho added 25,730 new residents with almost half the counties growing at a faster rate than the state between July of 2022 and July of 2023. Only two counties lost population — Caribou (-9 residents) and Madison (-411 residents). Madison County is home to Brigham Young University-Idaho, where the ebb and flow of students creates volatility when estimating population.

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Idaho’s 2023 population growth outpaces the nation

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Jan. 5, 2024
Media Contact: Jan.Roeser@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho’s population growth in 2023 was double the national average of 0.5%. The U.S. added 1.6 million people, bringing its population estimate to 334,914,895 — higher than the growth rate of 0.4% in 2022 and 0.2% in 2021.

The U.S. Census estimates Idaho’s July 2023 population at 1,964,726 — an increase of 1.3% from July 2022 — ranking it fourth nationally in percentage growth. Despite the state’s position as 17th in numerical growth and falling from its top 10 status of the past two years, Idaho still outpaces the national population growth rate.

While most states experienced a population rebound from 2022 to 2023, only eight saw a decline — a contrast to the 18 declining states from 2021 to 2022.

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Idahoans with disabilities source of workers for employers

Idaho’s population of people with a disability is estimated at 14.1% or 269,585, based on the 2022 American Community Survey released recently by the U.S. Census.

The number of Idahoans with disabilities who are of working age is estimated at 140,752 — a 12.5% share of the state’s total population — with an estimated 6.4% unemployment rate. This group has close to a 50% labor force participation rate, which means they are working or actively seeking work.

The unemployment rate for Idahoans with disabilities is double that of the state’s population in general, 3.1% for September 2023, while the current participation rate for Idaho’s workforce overall is 62%. This data provides important insight into a group of people seeking employment opportunities. In many cases, a reasonable accommodation by an employer to hire a worker with a disability can be minimal in cost and in other cases accommodation is not necessary at all, depending on the job duties.

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U.S. Census reports most Idaho cities growing despite some losing residents

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: June 13, 2023
Media Contact: Jan.Roeser@labor.idaho.gov

The U.S. Census Bureau released population estimates for Idaho cities and towns for 2021-2022 – confirming that state population is still growing.

Boise’s net population loss came as a surprise considering the many top 10 lists curating it as the place to land. Boise is Idaho’s largest city and center of government with a variety of multi-family housing under construction or in the design/permitting phase. New subdivisions pepper the southern border of the city and annexation is underway to include 350 acres near the planned $15 billion Micron fabrication plant.

Six Idaho cities contributing the most growth are in southwestern Idaho, three are in northern Idaho and one is in south central Idaho. Of the top 20 largest cities, only three have populations of more than 100,000 — Boise, Meridian and Nampa (Table 1).

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