AreaProfile

Idaho Falls, ID

Metro Area Profile

165,361 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Idaho Falls, ID metropolitan area.

69
Area Score
Top 30% of 361 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 35% of 361 published metros62
GrowthTop 28% of 440 published metros63
Housing affordability308th of 441 published metros82
Climate413th of 441 published metros54
Physical resilienceTop 37% of 441 published metros67
AccessTop 34% of 441 published metros91
Economic stabilityTop 14% of 441 published metros83
The quick read

Residential permitting has slowed: 1,596 units authorized over the past twelve months, 30% below the prior year.

A major airport is 19 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

Its Area Score of 69 places Idaho Falls in the top 30% of published metro profiles.

At a glance

Population
165,361
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$80,291
Top 18% nationally
Density
32/sq mi
5196.1 sq mi of land
Median age
33.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Idaho Falls, ID
Nearest major airport
IDA
19 mi · Idaho Falls Rgnl
Median home value
$372,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.2% is lower than 91% of the 361 measured US metros.

Employment fell 2.9% over the past year, to 81,596 employed residents.

32% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 72% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,114$80,291Top 18%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,121$34,977Bottom 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.9%Bottom 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute22.9 minBottom 36%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher31.7%Top 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment81,596Bottom 34%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-0.6%Bottom 37%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-2.9%Bottom 8%June 2026
Labor force84,333Bottom 33%June 2026
Labor force participation65.1%Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$61,160Top 48%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$46,800Bottom 38%2025 OEWS
Metro employment81,840Bottom 37%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.2%Top 36%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.2%Bottom 9%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/064.02.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.2% in June 2026.
Largest occupations — Idaho Falls, ID
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,930$34,050
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,610$28,680
General and Operations Managers2,480$80,380
Retail Salespersons2,090$32,320
Customer Service Representatives1,710$40,060
Office Clerks, General1,670$43,210

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 $1,127 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
16.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.6×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,127
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$372,100
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.63Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate73.9%Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±13659,604Top 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$35$1,127Top 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,004$372,100Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income16.8%Bottom 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate7.0%Bottom 16%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
63/ 100
Top 28% of 440 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, 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 8% since 2020, reaching 171,233 in 2024.

At 9.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
1,596
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.7
Top 9% nationally
Year over year
−30%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
34.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024171k158k
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

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 12°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 10.1 inches.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station IDAHO FALLS FANNING FLD, 19.1 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND1.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation10.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low12°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing48°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

67 / 100
Physical resilience

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

EarthquakeElevated
Cold waveModerate
WildfireModerate
Heat waveModerate
HailModerate
Inland floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, lightning, avalanche, volcanic activity, winter weather, strong wind, ice storm, drought, tornado.

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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 19 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Idaho Falls RgnlIDA19 mi9,002 ft
Pocatello RgnlPIH50 mi9,059 ft
YellowstoneWYS98 mi8,400 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
69
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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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