County profile

Ada County

Idaho · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
518,935
Median household income
$91,502
People below poverty
8.3%
Median home value
$512,300

Income

The median income of households in Ada County, Idaho was $91,502. An estimated 3.1% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 14.4% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Ada County, Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 3.1
$10,000 to $14,999 2.3
$15,000 to $24,999 4.4
$25,000 to $34,999 4.6
$35,000 to $49,999 9
$50,000 to $74,999 16.2
$75,000 to $99,999 14.9
$100,000 to $149,999 20.2
$150,000 to $199,999 10.8
$200,000 or more 14.4

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

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Dollars
Male 72177
Female 56354

An estimated 80% of households received earnings. An estimated 28.5% of households received Social Security and an estimated 24.8 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $26,508. 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 Ada County, Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 80
Social Security 28.5
Retirement income 24.8
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 3.4
Cash public assistance income 2.8

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 8.3 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 8.5% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 7.7% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 8.5% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Ada County, Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 8.3
Children under 18 years below poverty 8.5
People 65 years old and over below poverty 7.7
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 8.5

In 2020-2024, 5.1 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 46.3% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 34.4% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 28% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Ada County, Idaho in 2020-2024, 93.6% had health insurance coverage and 6.4% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 76.2% and public coverage was 29.4%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 4.9%.


In 2020-2024, Ada County, Idaho had a total population of 518,935 - 257,481 (49.6%) females and 261,454 (50.4%) males. The median age was 38.4 years. An estimated 22% of the population was under 18 years, 34.5% was 19 to 44 years, 24.7% was 45 to 64 years, and 16.2 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Ada County, Idaho in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 13512 12871
5 to 9 15443 15486
10 to 14 18236 16597
15 to 19 18194 17352
20 to 24 16881 15502
25 to 29 18816 16826
30 to 34 18608 17790
35 to 39 20536 18712
40 to 44 17694 17992
45 to 49 17362 16181
50 to 54 16811 15878
55 to 59 15686 15841
60 to 64 14635 15223
65 to 69 12916 14829
70 to 74 11341 12018
75 to 79 7638 8208
80 to 84 4228 5069
85 and over 2917 5106

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 83.1% were White; 1.3% were Black or African American; 14.4% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 2.8% were Asian; 0.7% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 9% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 9.8% of the people in Ada County, Idaho were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 80.9% of the people in Ada County, Idaho were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 202,543 households in Ada County, Idaho. The average household size was 2.49 people.

Married-couple households made up 53.3% of the households in Ada County, Idaho while cohabiting couple households made up 7.3% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 22.8% of all households, while 16.7% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 10.9% of households were male householders living alone, and 14.2% were female householders living alone, for a total of 25.1% of all households.

In Ada County, Idaho, 30% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 28.7% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Ada County, Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 53.3
Cohabiting Couples 7.3
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
16.7
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
22.8

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 53.6% of males and 52.6% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 33.6 26.5
Now married, except separated 53.6 52.6
Separated 0.8 0.9
Widowed 1.9 6.9
Divorced 10.1 13.1

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Ada County, Idaho, 6,274 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 38.7% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 93.8% of the people living in Ada County, Idaho were U.S. natives. 38.8% of the Ada County, Idaho population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 6.2% of Ada County, Idaho residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 54.1% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 63.9 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Ada County, 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 Ada County, Idaho.

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

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Percent
Latin America 28.7
Asia 36.5
Europe 19.6
Africa 8.3
Northern America 6
Oceania 1

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Ada County, Idaho in 2020-2024, 9.3 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 4.6% of people at least five years old; 3.1% 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 Ada County, Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 4.6
Other Indo-European languages 2.2
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 1.6
Other languages 1

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 83.2 % of the people at least one year old living in Ada County, Idaho were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Ada County, Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 83.2
Different house, same county 9
Different county, same state 2.3
Different state 5.1
Abroad 0.4

Education

In 2020-2024, 95.2 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 44.6% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 4.9% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Ada County, Idaho was 127,667 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 7,079 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 86,637. College or graduate school enrollment was 33,951.

Educational Attainment of People in Ada County, Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 4.9
High school diploma or equivalency 20.1
Some college, no degree 22.2
Associate's degree 8.3
Bachelor's degree 29
Graduate or professional degree 15.6

Disability

In Ada County, Idaho, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 11.8 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 5.3% of people under 18 years old, to 9.9% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 28.1% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Ada County, Idaho, 63.6 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 34.2% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 78.7% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 14.2% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 6.9 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 209,671 78.7
Federal, state, or local government workers 37,964 14.2
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 18,418 6.9

Industries

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

Percent by Industry in Ada County, Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 1.2
Construction 8.2
Manufacturing 8.9
Wholesale trade 2.7
Retail trade 11.1
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 4.5
Information 2.2
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 7.8
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 13.4
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 22.5
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 8.1
Other Services, except public administration 4.2
Public administration 5.1

Occupations

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

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 129,432 48.6
Service occupations 38,180 14.3
Sales and office occupations 53,472 20.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 22,460 8.4
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 22,963 8.6

Commuting to Work

An estimated 69.3% of Ada County, Idaho workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7.1% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 21.2 minutes to get to work.

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

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 69.3
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7.1
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.3
Walked 2.1
Other means 2.7
Worked from home 18.5

In 2020-2024, Ada County, Idaho had a total of 211,440 housing units. Of these housing units, 79.2% 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"). 18.2% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 2.7% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Ada County, Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 79.2
Apartments in multi-unit structures 18.2
Mobile homes 2.7
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

24.8% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 3.9% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Ada County, Idaho was 6 rooms, and of these housing units 72.6% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Ada County, Idaho had 202,543 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 8,897 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 70.8% while renters occupied 29.2%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.6 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.23.

6.3% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 4.1% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 3.8% and another 26.3% had three or more vehicles available for use.

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

House Heating Fuel Used in Ada County, Idaho in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 70.3
Electricity 27.5
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0.4
All other fuels 1.5
No fuel used 0.4

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Ada County, Idaho was $512,300.

Of the owner-occupied households, 67.4 % had a mortgage. 32.6% 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 $1,905 and for owners without a mortgage it was $546.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Ada County, Idaho was $1,577. 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.