Caldwell, Idaho

Area Profile

66,516 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Caldwell, in Canyon County.

62out of 100
Area Score
Top 39% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 30% of 4,199 cities measured66
Schools3,741st of 4,162 cities measured18
GrowthTop 5% of 4,224 cities measured80
Housing affordability3,025th of 4,218 cities measured55
Climate3,413th of 4,225 cities measured61
Physical resilienceTop 27% of 4,226 cities measured77
Access3,192nd of 4,226 cities measured82
Economic stability2,364th of 4,226 cities measured55
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.8% and median household income $73,058, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 34% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.6 students for every teacher.

1,467 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 8% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
66,516
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$73,058
Top 41% nationally
Density
2,646/sq mi
25.1 sq mi of land
Median age
31.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Idaho
Metro area
Nearest major airport
BOI
23 mi · Boise Air Trml/Gowen Fld
Median home value
$367,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.8%, lower than in 69% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.3% over the past year, to 34,312 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsCanyon County, ID’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,94238th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftCanyon County, ID’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,82318th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,8292024 ACS 5-Year$73,058Top 41%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,1322024 ACS 5-Year$27,345Bottom 28%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.6%Bottom 47%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.8 minTop 50%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year19.5%Bottom 47%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year73.7%38th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202634,312Bottom 38%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+8.3%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 40%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202635,67738th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year78.6%Top 49%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBoise City, ID Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$64,530Bottom 29%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageBoise City, ID Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$49,100Bottom 35%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.0%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%73rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.4%Top 29%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.8%Top 31%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.1%68th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.92.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.8% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202473k60k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $73,058 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Boise City, ID

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers11,690$29,660
General and Operations Managers11,270$83,680
Home Health and Personal Care Aides9,850$35,850
Customer Service Representatives9,460$46,640
Retail Salespersons9,130$35,670
Office Clerks, General8,810$45,860

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

34% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 46% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.6 students for every full-time teacher across 26 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
26
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.6
across all schools here
Math proficiency
34.3%
Bottom 17% in Idaho
Reading proficiency
46.3%
Bottom 13% in Idaho
The 12 largest of 26 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Caldwell Senior High SchoolCALDWELL DISTRICT1,40021.520%39%
Vallivue High SchoolVALLIVUE SCHOOL DISTRICT1,25218.122%57%
Summitvue Middle SchoolVALLIVUE SCHOOL DISTRICT83619.0——
Skyway ElementaryVALLIVUE SCHOOL DISTRICT79520.950%54%
Jefferson Middle SchoolCALDWELL DISTRICT77817.324%31%
Vision Charter School · charterVISION CHARTER SCHOOL INC.76023.059%70%
Syringa Middle SchoolCALDWELL DISTRICT69517.027%37%
Vallivue Middle SchoolVALLIVUE SCHOOL DISTRICT68216.235%54%
Central Canyon Elementary SchoolVALLIVUE SCHOOL DISTRICT65418.748%61%
Mosaics Public School · charterMOSAICS PUBLIC SCHOOL INC.52719.5——
Heritage Community Charter · charterHERITAGE COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL INC.51222.327%39%
Elevate Academy · charterELEVATE ACADEMY INC.49312.0——

58.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Idaho’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 6% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 94.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Boise City, ID Metro Area is up 26% over five years, and up 3.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,952 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.53% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,655, some 31% above the $1,264 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,655 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $66,200 a year, about 91% of the median household income here of $73,058.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,264 a month.

A median home at $367,300 costs 4.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $80,452, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
94.2

Prices here run about 6% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Boise City, ID Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
29.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,655
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,264
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$367,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Caldwell’s median household income of $73,058, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Boise City, ID Metro Area’s figure202394.2Top 23%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Boise City, ID Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.7%62nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Boise City, ID Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+25.7%9th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Boise City, ID Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+159.9%99th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year4.6Bottom 12%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year73.0%44th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6792024 ACS 5-Year22,37897th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,381Top 48%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,318Bottom 43%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,655Top 48%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$872024 ACS 5-Year$1,264Bottom 29%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,6612024 ACS 5-Year$367,30080th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$882024 ACS 5-Year$1,95255th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,3492024 ACS 5-Year$80,452Top 48%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.53%14th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year29.8%Bottom 42%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±692024 ACS 5-Year7286th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%54th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.3%28th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2772024 ACS 5-Year80594th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

80/ 100
Top 5% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 20% since 2020, reaching 73,088 in 2024.

Federal tax returns show Canyon County, which contains Caldwell, gained about 2.0% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $65,942, above the $56,823 of households that moved out.

At 22.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
1,467
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
22.1
Top 2% nationally
Year over year
−8%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
22.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202473k61k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+2.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
47%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$65,942
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,823
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Ada County, ID 6,770 people · 41% of arrivals
  2. Owyhee County, ID 350 people · 2.1% of arrivals
  3. Payette County, ID 286 people · 1.7% of arrivals
  4. Riverside County, CA 281 people · 1.7% of arrivals
  5. Malheur County, OR 272 people · 1.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Ada County, ID 4,952 people · 40% of departures
  2. Owyhee County, ID 405 people · 3.2% of departures
  3. Payette County, ID 363 people · 2.9% of departures
  4. Gem County, ID 246 people · 2.0% of departures
  5. Malheur County, OR 209 people · 1.7% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Canyon County, ID. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420252k995
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+48%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 26°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 11.5 inches, including 17.6 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 36, in the Good band, and about 15 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BOISE AIR TERMINAL, 21.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND1.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year732024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals11.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals17.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals26°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year152024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year362024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
36
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
73
90th percentile index
Days above 100
15
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

77 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, heat wave and wildfire, with inland flooding alone responsible for 66% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 73% of measured US cities.

WildfireElevated
Heat waveElevated
EarthquakeModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, lightning, inland flooding, ice storm, volcanic activity, strong wind, hail, landslide, cold wave, drought, tornado, avalanche, tsunami, hurricane, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
482
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
683
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Caldwell's police department reported 482 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 683.

Canyon County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.5 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 12.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 11.3 per 100,000 residents in Canyon County.

Homicide
1.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
11.3
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
16.7
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Caldwell’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Caldwell (Canyon County) rather than Caldwell itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Boise Air Trml/Gowen Fld at 23 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year92.4%Top 38%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle23 miBottom 39%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.2%Top 38%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Boise Air Trml/Gowen FldBOI23 mi10,000 ft
Joslin Fld/Magic Valley RgnlTWF136 mi8,704 ft
Pocatello RgnlPIH211 mi9,059 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
62
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Other cities in Boise City, ID

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Boise CityAda County237,24266Boise City vs Caldwell
MeridianAda County130,13875Meridian vs Caldwell
NampaCanyon County110,31964Nampa vs Caldwell
EagleAda County32,85570
KunaAda County27,15870
StarAda County14,74573
Garden CityAda County12,65467
MiddletonCanyon County10,64969

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Caldwell side by side with a similar place.

Caldwell vs NampaCaldwell vs Garner

Moving to Caldwell from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Caldwell

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Caldwell with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Caldwell closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
8360541,325$68,427$346,100—
8360735,491$85,399$426,70062