Lewiston, Idaho

Area Profile

34,651 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lewiston, in Nez Perce County.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 31% of 2,944 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity1986th of 3,904 published cities56
Schools1634th of 2,668 published cities43
Growth1559th of 2,973 published cities49
Housing affordabilityTop 48% of 4,223 published cities82
Climate2619th of 4,223 published cities67
Physical resilience2741st of 4,182 published cities44
Access4146th of 4,226 published cities41
Economic stability2788th of 4,226 published cities52
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.6% and median household income $72,197, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published city profiles.

In the public schools here, 44% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.7 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 127 units authorized over the past twelve months, 49% below the prior year.

At a glance

Population
34,651
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$72,197
Top 43% nationally
Density
1,975/sq mi
17.5 sq mi of land
Median age
39.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Nez Perce County
Idaho
Metro area
Lewiston, ID-WA
Nearest major airport
GEG
88 mi · Spokane Intl
Median home value
$333,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.6% is lower than 80% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.6% over the past year, to 16,246 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$6,698$72,197Top 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,286$37,764Top 38%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate12.5%Top 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute16.4 minBottom 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher27.5%Top 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment16,246Bottom 17%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.2%Bottom 29%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.6%Bottom 31%June 2026
Labor force16,856Bottom 17%June 2026
Labor force participation60.2%Bottom 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$59,120Bottom 12%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$48,300Bottom 24%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.1%Top 47%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.6%Bottom 20%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/063.92.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.6% in June 2026. 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
202120222023202472k61k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $72,197 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 — Lewiston, ID-WA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers930$34,650
Home Health and Personal Care Aides870$36,400
Office Clerks, General840$43,430
Registered Nurses730$87,650
Retail Salespersons680$37,010
General and Operations Managers600$79,030

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.

44% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 51% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.7 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
15
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
43.5%
Bottom 45% in Idaho
Reading proficiency
50.6%
Bottom 36% in Idaho
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
LEWISTON HIGH SCHOOLLEWISTON INDEPENDENT DISTRICT1,28817.9
JENIFER MIDDLE SCHOOLLEWISTON INDEPENDENT DISTRICT56115.237%52%
SACAJAWEA MIDDLE SCHOOLLEWISTON INDEPENDENT DISTRICT54715.232%52%
CENTENNIAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLLEWISTON INDEPENDENT DISTRICT35816.348%44%
WHITMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLLEWISTON INDEPENDENT DISTRICT33213.841%45%
CAMELOT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLLEWISTON INDEPENDENT DISTRICT31015.554%52%
MCGHEE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLLEWISTON INDEPENDENT DISTRICT25914.438%47%
ORCHARDS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLLEWISTON INDEPENDENT DISTRICT25714.354%54%
MCSORLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLLEWISTON INDEPENDENT DISTRICT24214.261%61%
WEBSTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLLEWISTON INDEPENDENT DISTRICT21413.445%51%
PINECREST ACADEMY OF LEWISTON · charterPINECREST ACADEMY OF LEWISTON INC14916.6
TAMMANY HIGH SCHOOLLEWISTON INDEPENDENT DISTRICT10617.7

35.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Idaho’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,027 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.6 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
17.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.6×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,027
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$333,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.62Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate67.5%Bottom 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±19515,109Top 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$64$1,027Top 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,544$333,700Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.1%Bottom 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate5.8%Bottom 32%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
49/ 100
Ranks 1559 of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing — 3 consecutive years, measured from 2022 to 2025.

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 1% since 2020, reaching 34,693 in 2024.

Permit activity has risen for 3 consecutive years.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 5% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 3.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
127
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.7
Top 38% nationally
Year over year
−49%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
4.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202435k34k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
202220232024202523950
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+378%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 30°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 12.9 inches, including 12.7 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 29, in the Good band, and about 8 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LEWISTON NEZ PERCE CO AP, 1.7 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND1.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index62.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation12.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall12.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low30°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10082024 calendar year
Median air quality index29.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing41°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
29
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
62
90th percentile index
Days above 100
8
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. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

44 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, wildfire and heat wave.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 84% of measured US cities.

WildfireElevated
AvalancheModerate
Inland floodingElevated
Heat waveElevated

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, earthquake, cold wave, drought, lightning, hail, strong wind, tornado, ice storm, winter weather.

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.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Nez Perce County records 4.3 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 30.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 32.6 per 100,000 residents in Nez Perce County.

Homicide
4.3
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
30.2
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
32.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
23.3
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Nez Perce County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Lewiston rather than Lewiston itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 88 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Spokane IntlGEG88 mi8,199 ft
Grant County IntlMWH124 mi13,503 ft
Missoula MontanaMSO142 mi9,501 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
55
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.

ZIP codes in Lewiston

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
8350137,520$73,62955