Elmore County, ID

County Profile

29,321 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Elmore County, ID.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

43out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 5% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity1,000th of 1,463 counties measured46
Schools1,341st of 1,377 counties measured7
GrowthTop 21% of 1,453 counties measured66
Housing affordability1,193rd of 1,462 counties measured62
Climate1,395th of 1,463 counties measured52
Physical resilience1,411th of 1,463 counties measured11
Access885th of 1,463 counties measured76
Economic stabilityTop 41% of 1,463 counties measured66
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.9% and median household income $65,359, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 31% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 18.4 students for every teacher.

177 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 4% 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
29,321
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$65,359
Top 50% nationally
Density
10/sq mi
3,075.1 sq mi of land
Median age
33.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Elmore County
Idaho
Nearest major airport
BOI
39 mi · Boise Air Trml/Gowen Fld
Median home value
$316,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.9%, lower than in 57% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 2.2% over the past year, to 11,010 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$51,92228th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$49,89723rd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,2592024 ACS 5-Year$65,359Top 50%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,3132024 ACS 5-Year$32,615Bottom 38%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$46,501Bottom 12%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.3%Top 29%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.0 minTop 31%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year22.4%Top 50%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year82.7%85th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202611,010Bottom 13%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.2%Bottom 47%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.2%Bottom 19%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202611,46113th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year75.5%Bottom 49%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%39th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Bottom 49%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.9%Top 43%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%13th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.73.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.9% 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

202120222023202465k48k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $65,359 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.

31% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 42% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 18.4 students for every full-time teacher across 14 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
18.4
across 14 of them
Math proficiency
30.7%
Bottom 7% in Idaho
Reading proficiency
41.5%
Bottom 7% in Idaho
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Mountain Home SR High SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT91818.022%44%
West Elementary SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT55620.642%37%
Hacker Middle SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT53018.325%39%
Mountain Home Junior High SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT50018.541%51%
East Elementary SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT38619.342%42%
North Elementary SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT35719.837%37%
Stephensen Elementary SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT31219.547%47%
Richard McKenna Charter School - Online · charterIDAHO VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOL INC.21636.010%50%
Richard McKenna Charter School - Montessori · charterIDAHO VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOL INC.16416.410%10%
Glenns Ferry Elementary SchoolGLENNS FERRY JOINT DISTRICT13912.637%42%
Glenns Ferry High SchoolGLENNS FERRY JOINT DISTRICT12814.210%50%
Richard McKenna Charter School - Onsite · charterIDAHO VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOL INC.11316.1——

54.9% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Idaho is up 44% over five years, and up 2.0% 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 $1,701 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.54% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,192, close to the $1,243 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,192 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $47,700 a year, about 73% of the median household income here of $65,359.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,243 a month.

A median home at $316,500 costs 4.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $74,163, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
28.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,192
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,243
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$316,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Elmore County’s median household income of $65,359, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Idaho’s figure2026 Q2+2.0%22nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Idaho’s figure2026 Q2+44.1%47th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Idaho’s figure2026 Q2+146.8%99th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year4.3Bottom 9%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year65.6%16th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±492024 ACS 5-Year12,27149th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$908Top 44%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,658Bottom 40%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,192Bottom 48%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$702024 ACS 5-Year$1,243Bottom 15%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$15,2512024 ACS 5-Year$316,50083rd percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$972024 ACS 5-Year$1,70154th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,1882024 ACS 5-Year$74,163Bottom 45%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.54%21st percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year28.2%Bottom 46%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1202024 ACS 5-Year59262nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year4.8%64th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%16th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2012024 ACS 5-Year1,20437th percentileof 3,2222024 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.

Development Momentum

66/ 100
Top 21% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 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 4% since 2020, reaching 29,729 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 163 units authorized in 2025, up 26% on the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 177 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Elmore County lost about 1.4% 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 $51,922, close to the $49,897 of households that moved out.

At 6.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
177
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.0
Top 22% nationally
Year over year
−4%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202430k29k
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
65%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$51,922
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$49,897
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Ada County, ID 416 people · 19% of arrivals
  2. Canyon County, ID 142 people · 6.6% of arrivals
  3. Owyhee County, ID 50 people · 2.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Ada County, ID 485 people · 20% of departures
  2. Canyon County, ID 160 people · 6.5% of departures
  3. Maricopa County, AZ 57 people · 2.3% of departures
  4. Owyhee County, ID 48 people · 1.9% of departures
  5. Twin Falls County, ID 43 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202520290
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+81%).

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 9°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 14.0 inches.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station HILL CITY 1 W, 21.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals14.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals9°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

11 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are wildfire, inland flooding and avalanche, with wildfire alone responsible for 59% of it. Avalanche is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

WildfireHigh
Heat waveElevated
EarthquakeModerate
Inland floodingModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Elmore County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 18.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 12.1 per 100,000 residents in Elmore County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
18.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
12.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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.

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 Elmore County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this 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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Boise Air Trml/Gowen Fld at 39 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year91.2%Top 18%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle39 miBottom 44%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 15%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.0%Top 24%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Boise Air Trml/Gowen FldBOI39 mi10,000 ft
Joslin Fld/Magic Valley RgnlTWF80 mi8,704 ft
Pocatello RgnlPIH149 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
43
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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.

Cities in Elmore County, ID