State profile

Idaho

Population, economy, housing, and demographics · ACS 2020–2024

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At a glance

Total population
1,934,262
Median household income
$77,800
People below poverty
10.6%
Median home value
$418,600

Census Insights

  • Idaho's population grew by 20.9% from 1,599,464 to 1,934,262 across the comparison period.
  • The state has a relatively young population, with a median age of 37.3 years (the 8th lowest among states) and children under 18 making up 24.1% of residents (the 5th highest share among states).
  • Median household income rose by 23.8% from $62,854 to $77,800 across the comparison period.
  • Financial and health security improved as the poverty rate dropped from 15.6% to 10.6% and the uninsured rate fell from 16.0% to 9.1%.
  • Housing patterns stood out with detached single-unit homes making up 73.8% of all homes (the highest share among states) and owner-occupied housing accounting for 72.1% (the 8th highest share among states).
  • Work habits shifted notably as remote work rose from 5.9% to 13.3%, self-employment remained common at 7.6% of the workforce (the 6th highest share among states), and the mean commute time stayed short at 21.6 minutes (the 9th shortest among states).

Income

The median income of households in Idaho was $77,800. An estimated 3.6% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 9.2% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 3.6
$10,000 to $14,999 2.7
$15,000 to $24,999 6.1
$25,000 to $34,999 6.6
$35,000 to $49,999 11
$50,000 to $74,999 18.1
$75,000 to $99,999 14.7
$100,000 to $149,999 19.3
$150,000 to $199,999 8.7
$200,000 or more 9.2

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Idaho in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 61860
Female 47022

An estimated 77.3% of households received earnings. An estimated 32.8% of households received Social Security and an estimated 25.5 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $25,162. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 77.3
Social Security 32.8
Retirement income 25.5
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 4.5
Cash public assistance income 3

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 10.6 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 12.4% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 8.9% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 10.3% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 10.6
Children under 18 years below poverty 12.4
People 65 years old and over below poverty 8.9
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 10.3

In 2020-2024, 7.6 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 51.2% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 34.5% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 26.6% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Idaho in 2020-2024, 90.9% had health insurance coverage and 9.1% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 68.8% and public coverage was 35.4%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 6.8%.


In 2020-2024, Idaho had a total population of 1,934,262 - 961,100 (49.7%) females and 973,162 (50.3%) males. The median age was 37.3 years. An estimated 24.1% of the population was under 18 years, 32.7% was 19 to 44 years, 23% was 45 to 64 years, and 17 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Idaho in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 58278 55470
5 to 9 65924 61330
10 to 14 70554 68372
15 to 19 72450 75256
20 to 24 67443 61000
25 to 29 64456 59902
30 to 34 64533 62923
35 to 39 64661 62225
40 to 44 63952 62155
45 to 49 57214 53834
50 to 54 54779 53088
55 to 59 53396 54396
60 to 64 58828 59207
65 to 69 51787 55851
70 to 74 46161 46727
75 to 79 27965 31318
80 to 84 17994 19707
85 and over 12787 18339

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 81.7% were White; 0.8% were Black or African American; 15.5% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 1.4% were Asian; 0.4% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 9.7% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 13.6% of the people in Idaho were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 78.6% of the people in Idaho were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 713,005 households in Idaho. The average household size was 2.64 people.

Married-couple households made up 55.1% of the households in Idaho while cohabiting couple households made up 6.9% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 21.4% of all households, while 16.6% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 11.4% of households were male householders living alone, and 13% were female householders living alone, for a total of 24.4% of all households.

In Idaho, 31.9% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 31.6% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 55.1
Cohabiting Couples 6.9
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
16.6
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
21.4

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 54.6% of males and 53.4% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 31.7 25.6
Now married, except separated 54.6 53.4
Separated 1 1.1
Widowed 2.3 7.4
Divorced 10.5 12.5

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Idaho, 32,585 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 33.3% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 94.1% of the people living in Idaho were U.S. natives. 43.9% of the Idaho population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 5.9% of Idaho residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 45.8% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 69.5 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Idaho come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Idaho.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 57
Asia 18.7
Europe 14
Africa 4
Northern America 5.3
Oceania 1

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Idaho in 2020-2024, 11 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 8.1% of people at least five years old; 3.7% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 8.1
Other Indo-European languages 1.5
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0.9
Other languages 0.5

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 84.9 % of the people at least one year old living in Idaho were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 84.9
Different house, same county 7
Different county, same state 3.1
Different state 4.6
Abroad 0.4

Education

In 2020-2024, 91.9 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 31.8% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 8.2% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Idaho was 492,784 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 24,496 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 346,507. College or graduate school enrollment was 121,781.

Educational Attainment of People in Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 8.2
High school diploma or equivalency 26.1
Some college, no degree 24.2
Associate's degree 9.7
Bachelor's degree 21.3
Graduate or professional degree 10.5

Disability

In Idaho, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 14.1 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 4.9% of people under 18 years old, to 12.2% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 34.1% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Idaho, 60.3 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 37% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 77.2% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 15% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 7.6 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 709,514 77.2
Federal, state, or local government workers 137,956 15
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 69,454 7.6

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Idaho worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 4
Construction 9.3
Manufacturing 9.4
Wholesale trade 2.3
Retail trade 11.6
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 5.1
Information 1.6
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 5.8
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 10.5
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 22.4
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 8.7
Other Services, except public administration 4.6
Public administration 4.8

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Idaho in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 358,504 39
Service occupations 155,399 16.9
Sales and office occupations 181,500 19.7
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 107,867 11.7
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 115,985 12.6

Commuting to Work

An estimated 72.7% of Idaho workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 8.9% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 21.6 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 72.7
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 8.9
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.5
Walked 2.6
Other means 2
Worked from home 13.3

In 2020-2024, Idaho had a total of 795,014 housing units. Of these housing units, 77.5% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 15.4% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 6.9% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 77.5
Apartments in multi-unit structures 15.4
Mobile homes 6.9
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.2

18.1% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 7.9% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Idaho was 5.9 rooms, and of these housing units 69.8% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Idaho had 713,005 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 82,009 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 72.1% while renters occupied 27.9%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.73 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.41.

5.1% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 6.9% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 3.7% and another 32.9% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Idaho:

House Heating Fuel Used in Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 56.9
Electricity 35.2
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 1.2
All other fuels 6.3
No fuel used 0.4

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Idaho was $418,600.

Of the owner-occupied households, 62.2 % had a mortgage. 37.8% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,687 and for owners without a mortgage it was $493.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Idaho was $1,238. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.