Moscow, ID

Metro Area Profile

41,049 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Moscow, ID metropolitan area.

Area Score unavailable

Missing required signal: opportunity. AreaProfile withholds a score rather than inferring the missing dimensions.

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
GrowthTop 14% of 821 published metros73
Housing affordability693rd of 822 published metros74
Climate439th of 822 published metros65
Physical resilienceTop 33% of 822 published metros67
Access688th of 822 published metros54
Economic stability412th of 822 published metros50
The quick read

222 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 2% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Buying strains local incomes far more than renting does — the median home is 5.6 times median household income, against a historic benchmark near three — while rent takes 17% of it.

A typical July reaches 83°F and a typical January falls to 28°F, on thirty-year normals.

At a glance

Population
41,049
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$65,424
Bottom 44% nationally
Density
38/sq mi
1075.9 sq mi of land
Median age
30.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Moscow, ID
Nearest major airport
GEG
67 mi · Spokane Intl
Median home value
$368,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

43% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 94% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$3,248$65,424Bottom 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,098$36,063Top 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate17.6%Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute20.5 minBottom 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher43.0%Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Labor force participation62.0%Top 37%2024 ACS 5-Year

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $929 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.6 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
17.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.6×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$929
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$368,600
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income5.63Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate58.7%Bottom 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5717,591Bottom 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$32$929Bottom 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,083$368,600Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.0%Bottom 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate7.5%Bottom 21%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
73/ 100
Top 14% of 821 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 6% since 2020, reaching 42,180 in 2024.

At 5.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
222
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.4
Top 23% nationally
Year over year
+2%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
31.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202442k40k
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 83°F and January a low of 28°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 17.5 inches.

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, 18.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND2.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation17.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low28°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high83°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing35°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 wildfire, heat wave and hail.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 95% of measured US metros.

WildfireHigh
LandslideModerate
AvalancheModerate
Heat waveElevated
HailModerate

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

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.

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 67 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Spokane IntlGEG67 mi8,199 ft
Grant County IntlMWH125 mi13,503 ft
Missoula MontanaMSO125 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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Compare

Put Moscow side by side with a similar place.

Moscow vs BrookingsMoscow vs CorsicanaMoscow vs OntarioMoscow vs Fort Dodge

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)
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)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)

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.

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