Tag Archives: Economy

Around Idaho: Economic activity, July 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of July and includes professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South central Idaho
Southeastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho

NORTHERN IDAHO

Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties

Regional news

Kootenai County

  • Construction is underway on a large new mixed-use project in Post Falls. Named ‘Nonna,’ the project includes a 50,000 square-foot building with four stories, including commercial space on the ground floor and 33 apartment units on the upper three levels. Commercial tenants will include a ground-floor brunch restaurant. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • A new food truck court, called Eats On Spokane Street, is open in Post Falls. The location includes a new open-air building which houses MelFit Healthy Kitchen and Nachos Cantina, with four food trucks including Charcuteria, Angel’s Eats and Treats, Woody’s Smoked Salmon and Taco Works. There are three remaining spaces for additional food trucks. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

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Labor economist to explore Idaho’s demographics and population projections in July webinar

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: July 15, 2025
Media Contact: Samuel.Wokenhauer@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho Department of Labor Economist Sam Wolkenhauer will discuss Idaho’s demographics and new population projections at a webinar Tuesday, July 22.

“Idaho continues to run contrary to the national trend of flatlining population growth and is one of the fastest growing states,” Wolkenhauer said. “There are a lot of variances within Idaho’s population growth, both in terms of which counties are growing and the age structure of the population.”

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Around Idaho: Economic activity, June 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of June and includes professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South central Idaho
Southeastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho

NORTHERN IDAHO

Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties

Regional news

Kootenai County

  • Coeur d’Alene Ironman was held on Sunday, June 22. The 70.3-mile triathlon, which has become a fixture summer event in Coeur d’Alene, drew more than 1,000 athletes to northern Idaho this year. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • A new retail center in Coeur d’Alene is nearing completion and has begun announcing tenants. A Five Guys restaurant and EyeMart Express will anchor the new Heritage Square on U.S. 95 in northern Coeur d’Alene. The property has additional retail spaces available, with Five Guys set to open in July. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • The Post Falls City Council approved a construction improvement agreement for a 148-lot subdivision in northern Post Falls. The project, dubbed Crown Reserve, will be located north of the Crown Pointe Subdivision and will require significant infrastructure improvements. No timeline has been published for construction. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

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Idaho’s housing market reflects construction trends

The housing market has been a hot topic in recent years as high mortgage rates and rising prices have created affordability challenges across the state. To address these challenges, multi-family housing unit permits have had an increasing share of overall housing permits in Idaho.

Additionally, the labor force side of the equation is growing strong, as construction employment is the second largest growing industry in the state.

Affordability challenges

Rising unaffordability is a nationwide challenge, both rent and house owner’s equivalent of rent have shown increases in almost identical ways. Prices stagnated during 2008-2011 as the housing crisis turned the housing market upside down.

Outside of the housing crisis, housing costs have continued to increase even faster since 2021, as inflation and mortgage rates began to rise. The prices have been shrinking the number of homes on the market and rising costs of inputs (lumber, concrete, steel, etc.) for new homes.

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Labor economists to discuss rural Idaho’s economy at webinar June 17

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: June 11, 2025
Media Contact: Will.Hoenike@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho Department of Labor Economists Lisa Grigg, Brandon Duong and Sam Wolkenhauer will discuss rural Idaho’s economy at a webinar Tuesday, June 17. The webinar takes place from 11 a.m. to noon MT over Zoom.

“This webinar is a unique opportunity to discuss the economic successes and challenges of rural Idaho,” Wolkenhauer said.

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Idaho’s rural recreational counties lead state for number of employers per resident

Idaho is a large state with significant land area in mountain ranges, forests, wilderness and cropland. Although beautiful and geologically diverse, the state’s rugged landscape results in low overall population density compared to many U.S. states.

Averaging 24 residents per square mile, the Gem State has a population density that is nearly one-fourth that of the U.S. (96 people per square mile) and holds the No. 6 lowest density per square mile compared to all other states (between No. 5 being New Mexico with 18 people per square mile and No. 7 being Nebraska with 26 people per square mile).

The population density of Idaho’s nine urban counties (Ada, Bannock, Bonneville, Canyon, Kootenai, Latah, Madison, Nez Perce and Twin Falls) combined, averages 143 residents per square mile. The remaining 35 rural counties average significantly lower population density with eight residents per square mile.

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Around Idaho: Economic activity, May 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of May and includes professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South central Idaho
Southeastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho

NORTHERN IDAHO

Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties

Regional news

Kootenai County

  • North Idaho College’s (NIC) trustees voted unanimously to bring forward a $58.9 million budget for fiscal year 2026 which includes the college’s first tuition increase since 2019. The budget proposal includes a tuition increase of $5.50 per credit for in-district students and $6 per credit for all other students. The budget proposal would shrink NIC’s budget deficit from $5.2 million in fiscal year 2025 to $1.2 million in the upcoming fiscal year. Even with the proposed tuition increase, NIC’s tuition rates would remain tied with the College of Southern Idaho, which is the lowest in the state. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • School levies in Post Falls and Lakeland School District passed with 62% and 66% support, respectively. Post Falls passed a $5.9 million per year supplemental levy which will support extracurriculars, school safety measures, staff salaries andother items. Lakeland passed a $7.5 million per year supplemental levy. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • The Post Falls City Council approved a $11.7 million project to design and build a new public works operations center. The new facility will eventually house the city’s streets, water operations and utility divisions. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

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Idaho sees growth in startup jobs and new business applications in 2024

A positive byproduct of “startups” — defined as new private establishments open for less than a year — are the jobs they create. While Idaho’s startups account for a smaller share of private jobs now than in the 1990s, the state’s total employment has benefitted from them, growing from around 15,000 jobs in 1994 to over 27,000 jobs in 2024 — a 79.6% overall increase, or 2.2% annually.

Idaho finds itself in a healthy state of net job growth from startups, especially over the past 14 years when the greatest growth occurred. Figure 1 below plots the employment of startups in Idaho and the U.S. from 1994-2024. Despite a slight employment decrease in 2023, Idaho job growth from startups was again on the rise in 2024. Nationally, however, net job growth from startups dropped 14.6% from 1994-2024, a 1.4% decline per year. Continue reading →

Around Idaho: Economic activity, April 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of April and includes professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South central Idaho
Southeastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho

NORTHERN IDAHO

Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties

Regional news

Kootenai County

  • Hagadone Hospitality broke ground on the new Sherman Tower, which will be a 15-story expansion of the Coeur d’Alene Resort. The tower will feature 139 guest rooms in addition to nearly 10,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and office space. The opening is scheduled for the spring of 2027. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • Two new hotels are under construction in Kootenai County. In Coeur d’Alene, a Marriott-branded AC Hotel is now under construction, which will have 126 guest rooms and open in 2027. Work was previously underway on a 151-room Hyatt Place Hotel in Post Falls, which will open in December. Source: Journal of Business
  • The developers of the new Thomas George luxury high-rise condominium tower in Coeur d’Alene announced that construction is scheduled for completion this year, with residents moving in by years’ end. The top floors of the 80-unit, 18 story tower have been poured. Source: Journal of Business

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Construction industry has highest percentage growth in Idaho

Idaho’s construction industry is one of the top industries, besides health care and social assistance, with the highest percentage growth in Idaho. The industry has grown over 60% from 2004 to 2024, driven by accelerated population gains and economic development from the past few decades.

Employment

Construction employment declined by 44% (or 22,887 people) during 2007-2011 as a consequence from the Great Recession’s impact on the economy. As the economy continued to recover after the Great Recession, so did construction employment with consistent growth over the past decade. Construction employment passed its previous 2007 peak in 2020 and has continued to experience growth with the current average employment in 2024 consisting of 66,389 private construction workers in Idaho.

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