Idaho

Key Details

• Idaho's population is estimated at 1.008 million.
• As of 2022, Idaho has over 796,000 housing units, about 10% of which were vacant.
• 55% of Idahoans aged 25 and over are high school graduates, 17% have completed a Bachelor's degree, and 11% have less than a high school diploma.
• In 2024, the governor of Idaho is Brad Little, a Republican.
• The median household income in Idaho is $72,785, a little lower than the national average.
• At birth, life expectancy in Idaho is 78.4.

Idaho Population Demographics

Idaho is ranked the 38th largest state in the United States, with an estimated 1.93 million residents. The White race accounts for the state's largest ethnicity, at 79%, followed by the Hispanic at 13.5%. The Black and Asian races make up the minority ethnic groups of the state's total demography, with 1.3% Asians and 0.6% Blacks. As a result, Idaho is considered one of the least diverse states in the U.S.

The median age in Idaho is 37.5. The state gender mix comprises about 50.4% male and 49.6% female. By age, individuals under 18 make up 24% of the entire state's population, 59% are between 18 and 64, and 17% are 65 years and older. Approximately 6% of Idaho residents are immigrants, while about 8% are native-born citizens of the United States with at least one immigrant parent.

Elections and Voting

To register as a voter in Idaho, a person must be at least 18 years old, a United States citizen, and a resident of the state for at least 30 days before an election date. As of 2024, the state has approximately 1.008 million registered voters, most of whom are Republicans. Although a few other political parties are in Idaho, the state is pretty much a two-party state, with the Republican and Democratic parties leading the charge.

The Democratic party won the general elections for the governorship position four times in Idaho between 1978 and 1990. However, since 1994, the Republican party has won the state governorship elections eight times, including the 2022 general elections. In the 2022 state general elections, 60.52% of registered voters gave the Republican Party their mandate, which brought in Brad Little as the duly elected governor. Stephen Heidt of the Democratic Party got only 20.28% of the total votes. The Republican Party won several other positions by a landslide in that general election, including the United States Senate, Representative, Lieutenant Governor, State Senate, and State Representative.

In Idaho, the voting trend during the United States presidential elections is very much the same as in state-level elections. Since 2000, registered voters in the state have voted the Republican Party 100% of the time and the Democratic Party 0% of the time. Between 1900 and 2000, the Democratic Party had only 9 wins in presidential elections, while the Republican Party had 22 wins, including the 2020 general presidential elections in which the party had 63.8% of the total votes. The Republican Party has always won the presidential election in Idaho from 1968 to date.

Housing, Income, and Employment

There are at least 796,968 housing units in Idaho, and about 10% of them were unoccupied as of 2022. Approximately 72.4% of these houses are owner-occupied, while about 27.7% are renter-occupied. The state has about 2.6 persons per household.

By the type of structure, Idaho housing comprises about 14.8% multi-unit houses, 78.1% single-unit homes, and 6.8% mobile homes. The median cost of owner-occupied housing units in the state is about $432,500, around 1.4 times the national value of about $320,900.

Idaho's median household income is $72,785, which is slightly less than the United States average. There is a shortage of affordable rental homes across the state for extremely low-income households, especially those with incomes at or below the poverty guideline. At least 70% of such households are severely cost-burdened, spending over half of their income on housing.

As of May 2024, Idaho's workforce was 975,713, with about 3.3% unemployment rate. Between April and May 2024, the percentage of persons aged 16 years or older who are either looking for work or employed stood at 62.7%.

Idaho Crime Rates

Idaho is relatively safe compared to the national crime rates. The average annual violent and property crime rate in the state is 2.41 and 9.72, respectively, per 1,000 residents. The breakdown of the state's violent crime rates is as follows:

• Murder - 0.03 per 1,000 residents, which is lower than the national average of 0.06 per 1,000 people
• Rape - 0.49 per 1,000 residents, slightly higher than the United States average
• Assault -1.82 per 1,000 people, which is lower than the national average
• Robbery - 0.08 per 1,000 residents

Generally, the rate of property crimes in Idaho is lower than the national average, with 1.59 incidents of burglary, 0.91 motor vehicle thefts, and 6.77 incidents of theft per 1,000 residents.

In 2023, Garden City ranked as Idaho's most unsafe city, with a violent crime rate of 688 incidents per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 2,972 incidents per 100,000 people. The cities of Chubbuck, Twins Falls, Pocatello, Blackfoot, Boise, and Nampa also ranked as places with high crime rates in the state.

How to Find People in Idaho

There are several online phone books and directories on which interested individuals can find other people in Idaho using their names, initials, or the city where they live. Social media and professional sites are also trusted places to find information about anyone in the state.

Interesting Facts About Idaho