Moscow, Idaho

Area Profile

26,286 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Moscow, in Latah County.

70out of 100
Area Score
Top 13% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 12% of 4,199 cities measured77
SchoolsTop 5% of 4,162 cities measured88
GrowthTop 5% of 4,224 cities measured79
Housing affordability3,094th of 4,218 cities measured54
Climate2,750th of 4,225 cities measured65
Physical resilienceTop 39% of 4,226 cities measured68
Access4,030th of 4,226 cities measured55
Economic stability2,794th of 4,226 cities measured49
The quick read

Moscow ranks in the top 12% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.0% and median household income of $57,022.

Public schools test above most of the state: 56% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 5% of published profiles for schools.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 163 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 16% on the prior year.

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
26,286
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$57,022
Bottom 34% nationally
Density
3,805/sq mi
6.9 sq mi of land
Median age
25.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Idaho
Micro area
Nearest major airport
GEG
66 mi · Spokane Intl
Median home value
$376,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.0%, lower than in 93% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.6% over the past year, to 13,451 employed residents.

50% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 89% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsLatah County, ID’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,49110th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftLatah County, ID’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$54,91915th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,9502024 ACS 5-Year$57,022Bottom 34%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,9642024 ACS 5-Year$32,818Bottom 47%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year14.0%Bottom 38%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year15.8 minTop 7%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year50.0%Top 11%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year62.7%15th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202613,451Bottom 9%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+3.7%Top 9%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.6%Top 23%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202613,8739th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year79.4%Top 46%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%74th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.6%Top 23%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.0%Top 7%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year10.2%61st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.61.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.0% 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

202120222023202457k49k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $57,022 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.

56% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 71% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.2 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
55.8%
Top 8% in Idaho
Reading proficiency
70.5%
Top 1% in Idaho
All 8 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Moscow High SchoolMOSCOW DISTRICT76016.952%77%
Moscow Middle SchoolMOSCOW DISTRICT50014.350%64%
A B McDonald Elementary SchoolMOSCOW DISTRICT34115.567%72%
Lena Whitmore Elementary SchoolMOSCOW DISTRICT24813.862%67%
West Park Elementary SchoolMOSCOW DISTRICT24014.1——
Moscow Charter School · charterMOSCOW DISTRICT18516.852%62%
Palouse Prairie Charter School · charterPALOUSE PRAIRIE EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION INC.18515.462%72%
Paradise Creek Regional High SchoolMOSCOW DISTRICT217.0——

27.1% 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 $2,856 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.76% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,011, some 9% above the $927 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,011 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $40,400 a year, about 71% of the median household income here of $57,022.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $927 a month.

A median home at $376,400 costs 4.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $91,604, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
33.1%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,011
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$927
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$376,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Moscow’s median household income of $57,022, 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%34th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Idaho’s figure2026 Q2+44.1%55th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Idaho’s figure2026 Q2+146.8%99th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year4.1Bottom 16%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year40.0%4th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2072024 ACS 5-Year10,82994th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$863Top 12%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,406Top 13%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,011Top 8%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$352024 ACS 5-Year$927Top 45%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,2052024 ACS 5-Year$376,40081st percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2432024 ACS 5-Year$2,85671st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,2762024 ACS 5-Year$91,604Top 35%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year0.76%34th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year33.1%Bottom 26%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±722024 ACS 5-Year7386th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%59th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.4%41st percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2192024 ACS 5-Year66392nd 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.

Development Momentum

79/ 100
Top 5% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 3 years of 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 5% since 2020, reaching 26,894 in 2024.

Permit activity rose in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025.

Federal tax returns show Latah County, which contains Moscow, lost about 0.5% 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 $51,491, below the $54,919 of households that moved out.

At 6.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
163
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.2
Top 22% nationally
Year over year
+16%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
42.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202427k26k
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
−0.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
67%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$51,491
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$54,919
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Whitman County, WA 207 people · 9.3% of arrivals
  2. Nez Perce County, ID 163 people · 7.4% of arrivals
  3. Ada County, ID 129 people · 5.8% of arrivals
  4. Kootenai County, ID 100 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  5. Spokane County, WA 82 people · 3.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Whitman County, WA 278 people · 12% of departures
  2. Nez Perce County, ID 186 people · 7.8% of departures
  3. Ada County, ID 155 people · 6.5% of departures
  4. Kootenai County, ID 138 people · 5.8% of departures
  5. Spokane County, WA 98 people · 4.1% 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 Latah County, ID. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202516757
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+183%).

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 83°F and January a low of 28°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 17.5 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 27, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PULLMAN MOSCOW RGNL AP, 5.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals17.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals28°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals83°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year272024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals35°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
27
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
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

68 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, wildfire and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 63% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

WildfireHigh
LandslideModerate
AvalancheModerate
Heat waveElevated
HailModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, inland flooding, earthquake, strong wind, ice storm, drought, winter weather, tornado, lightning, hurricane, tsunami, volcanic activity, 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
37
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,123
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.

Moscow's police department reported 37 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,123.

Latah County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.1 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 13.7 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 14.5 per 100,000 residents in Latah County.

Homicide
3.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
14.5
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Moscow’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 Moscow (Latah County) rather than Moscow 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.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Spokane Intl at 66 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year89.9%Top 49%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle66 miBottom 6%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.1%Top 31%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Spokane IntlGEG66 mi8,199 ft
Grant County IntlMWH114 mi13,503 ft
Missoula MontanaMSO138 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
70
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Compare

Put Moscow side by side with a similar place.

Moscow vs College StationMoscow vs State College

Moving to Moscow 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
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 Moscow

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Moscow 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 Moscow 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
8384326,591$59,444$380,600—