In the early 1980s, two economic consultants presented information about the 1980 Census to professors and students in the economics department at the University of Idaho. They excitedly announced that the Nez Perce were one of the richest tribes in the United States with extremely low poverty and unemployment rates. The audience was stunned. That did not jive with what they knew. Then, someone asked the key question, “Did you use data for the tribe or the reservation?” The consultants said the reservation, which they thought was the same as the tribe. But they were wrong. While the Nez Perce Reservation had a population of roughly 17,800 in 1980, only about 1,500 residents were Native American.

The Dawes Act of 1887 led to a large number of white settlers buying land from tribal members throughout the West. As a consequence, Native Americans make up only 26 percent of the residents living on Idaho reservations. The following table shows the total and Native American  populations of Idaho’s five reservations, and that the Native American  population has been growing faster than the total population on the reservations.

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The 1870 Census found 14,999 people living in the Territory of Idaho. Ten years later, that grew to 32,610 people. In 1890, the year Idaho became a state, it had 88,548 residents. Its population nearly doubled by 1900 and then more than doubled to 325,594 in 1910.

Population grew more slowly in the next 10 years reaching 431,866. Despite the Depression, Idaho’s population rose to 524,873 by 1940. Over the next three decades, Idaho’s population grew an average 14 percent per decade, reaching 667,191 in 1960. Growth slowed to 7 percent in the next decade. The economic prosperity of the 1970s helped Idaho grow an impressive 32 percent, from 712, 567 to 943,935. The double-dip recession of the early 1980s hit Idaho hard, resulting in only 7 percent growth. By 1990, Idaho had more than a million residents. The next two decades brought strong growth — 29 percent to 1,293,953 people in 2000 and 21 percent to 1,567,582 by 2010.

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Across Idaho, county commissioners, mayors, tribal leaders, nonprofit representatives and other civic leaders are urging Idahoans to stand up and be counted in the 2020 Census. They are well aware of the importance of ensuring that every member in their communities. A lot depends on it.

WHY ANSWER THE CENSUS?

Political clout.
A main purpose of the census is to count how many people live in each state, which determines how many members of the U.S. House of Representatives that state has. In the neighboring state of Montana, leaders are especially concerned about counting their total population this year, because the results could give Montana a second member of the House. If Idaho’s population continues to grow at its current strong rate, it’s very likely to get a third House member 10 years from now based on the 2030 Census.

The Census numbers also are used to determine the size of legislative districts within the state. It makes sure that areas get a fair share of political representation relative to population size.

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