Star, Idaho

Area Profile

14,745 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Star, in Ada County.

71out of 100
Area Score
Top 15% of 2,944 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 11% of 3,904 cities measured77
SchoolsTop 39% of 2,668 cities measured60
GrowthTop 5% of 2,973 cities measured80
Housing affordability3341st of 4,223 cities measured60
Climate3416th of 4,223 cities measured61
Physical resilienceTop 26% of 4,182 cities measured79
Access2851st of 4,226 cities measured86
Economic stabilityTop 37% of 4,226 cities measured66
The quick read

Star ranks in the top 11% of published city profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.4% and median household income of $97,936.

Residential permitting has slowed: 847 units authorized over the past twelve months, 20% below the prior year.

A major airport is 16 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
14,745
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$97,936
Top 20% nationally
Density
1,281/sq mi
11.5 sq mi of land
Median age
40.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Ada County
Idaho
Metro area
Boise City, ID
Nearest major airport
BOI
16 mi · Boise Air Trml/Gowen Fld
Median home value
$564,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4% is lower than 87% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.8% over the past year, to 285,550 employed residents.

35% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 76% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$12,836$97,936Top 20%of 29,5732024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,628$41,260Top 30%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate5.8%Bottom 27%of 31,9002024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute29.2 minTop 37%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher34.9%Top 24%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Employment285,550Top 23%of 3,904June 2026
Employment change (3 years)3.8%Top 10%of 3,903June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.8%Bottom 49%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force295,631Top 23%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force participation61.9%Top 45%of 31,9332024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$64,530Bottom 29%of 3,6582025 OEWS
Median annual wage$49,100Bottom 34%of 3,6582025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.1%Top 47%of 3,904June 2026
Unemployment rate3.4%Bottom 13%of 3,904June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202498k75k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $97,936 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

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Ada County, ID, which contains this city.

48% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 61% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 21.8 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
2
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
21.8
across all schools here
Math proficiency
48.3%
Top 27% in Idaho
Reading proficiency
61.3%
Top 27% in Idaho
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
STAR MIDDLE SCHOOLJOINT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 21,01324.142%62%
STAR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLJOINT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 272719.157%60%

26.5% 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 $1,924 takes 24% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.8 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
23.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,924
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$564,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income5.76Top 10%of 28,4732024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate80.7%Top 40%of 31,8432024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3585,519Top 11%of 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$738$1,924Top 10%of 23,4322024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$38,732$564,300Top 10%of 29,3422024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income23.6%Top 22%of 23,2012024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate4.9%Bottom 28%of 32,0012024 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
80/ 100
Top 5% of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2020 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 59% since 2020, reaching 18,208 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before.

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

At 57.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
847
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
57.4
Top 1% nationally
Year over year
−20%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
4.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202418k11k
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
2020202120222023202420251k541
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+63%).

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 44, in the Good band, and about 35 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, 15.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND1.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index97.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation11.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall17.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low26°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 100352024 calendar year
Median air quality index44.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing45°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
44
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
97
90th percentile index
Days above 100
35
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

79 / 100
Physical resilience

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

WildfireElevated
Heat waveModerate
EarthquakeModerate
LandslideModerate

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

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.

Ada County records 1.2 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 12.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 12.8 per 100,000 residents in Ada County.

Homicide
1.2
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.4
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
12.8
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
18.3
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 Ada 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 Star rather than Star 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
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes and full cost of living
No public source publishes either with national coverage and a method open enough to check. 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. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 16 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Boise Air Trml/Gowen FldBOI16 mi10,000 ft
Joslin Fld/Magic Valley RgnlTWF132 mi8,704 ft
Pocatello RgnlPIH203 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
71
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Other cities in Boise City, ID

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Boise CityAda County237,24268vs Star
MeridianAda County130,13876vs Star
NampaCanyon County110,31964vs Star
CaldwellCanyon County66,51663vs Star
EagleAda County32,85573vs Star
KunaAda County27,15869vs Star
Garden CityAda County12,65467vs Star
MiddletonCanyon County10,64972vs Star

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 Star side by side with a similar place.

Star vs Hornsby BendStar vs GeorgetownStar vs MackStar vs Saugus

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 Star

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
8366916,827$100,09171