AreaProfile

Boise City, ID

Metro Area Profile

811,115 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Boise City, ID metropolitan area.

75
Area Score
Top 15% of 99 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 14% of 99 published metros80
GrowthTop 2% of 99 published metros84
Housing affordability74th of 99 published metros69
Climate90th of 99 published metros59
Physical resilienceTop 27% of 99 published metros76
Access83rd of 99 published metros76
Economic stabilityTop 15% of 99 published metros88
The quick read

Boise City ranks in the top 14% of published metro profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.5% and median household income of $85,987.

Its Area Score of 75 places Boise City in the top 15% of published metro profiles.

At a glance

Population
811,115
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$85,987
Top 11% nationally
Density
69/sq mi
11766.6 sq mi of land
Median age
37.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Boise City, ID
Nearest major airport
BOI
39 mi · Boise Air Trml/Gowen Fld
Median home value
$468,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.5% is lower than 85% of the 99 measured US metros.

Employment fell 0.8% over the past year, to 437,706 employed residents.

37% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 84% of measured US metros.

Household income is higher than at least 89% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,175$85,987Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$764$43,624Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.2%Bottom 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute24.5 minTop 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher37.1%Top 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment437,706Bottom 41%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)4.1%Top 7%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.8%Top 48%June 2026
Labor force453,618Bottom 41%June 2026
Labor force participation65.0%Top 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$64,530Bottom 44%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$49,100Bottom 47%2025 OEWS
Metro employment391,790Bottom 39%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.1%Top 43%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.5%Bottom 15%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/064.02.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.5% in June 2026.
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.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,487 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.5 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
20.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,487
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$468,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income5.45Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate72.5%Top 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±177319,087Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$27$1,487Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$2,977$468,900Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income20.8%Top 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate4.7%Bottom 1%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
84/ 100
Top 2% of 99 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 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 10% since 2020, reaching 845,877 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 12% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 11.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
9,410
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
11.9
Top 3% nationally
Year over year
−3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
11.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024846k770k
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.

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 23°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 6.7 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station GRAND VIEW 4 NW, 1.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND0.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation6.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low23°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing44°F1991-2020 Normals

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.

Physical risk

76 / 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. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 39 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Boise Air Trml/Gowen FldBOI39 mi10,000 ft
Joslin Fld/Magic Valley RgnlTWF91 mi8,704 ft
Pocatello RgnlPIH179 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
75
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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)

Profile recalculated August 29, 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.

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