Mountain Home, ID

Micro Area Profile

29,321 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Mountain Home, ID micropolitan area.

47out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 17% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity528th of 835 metro and micro areas measured44
GrowthTop 24% of 834 metro and micro areas measured66
Housing affordability676th of 835 metro and micro areas measured62
Climate797th of 835 metro and micro areas measured52
Physical resilience807th of 835 metro and micro areas measured10
Access441st of 835 metro and micro areas measured76
Economic stabilityTop 32% of 835 metro and micro areas measured66
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.9% and median household income $65,359, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

177 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 4% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Housing sits below most metro and micro areas measured for affordability: rent takes 28% of renter income and the median home is 4.3 times what its owners earn — each just short of the thresholds that would count as strained, but both toward the costly end.

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
29,321
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$65,359
Bottom 44% nationally
Density
10/sq mi
3,075.1 sq mi of land
Median age
33.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Idaho
Nearest major airport
BOI
39 mi · Boise Air Trml/Gowen Fld
Median home value
$316,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.9%, lower than in 59% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 2.2% over the past year, to 11,010 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$4,2592024 ACS 5-Year$65,359Bottom 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,3132024 ACS 5-Year$32,615Bottom 30%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.3%Top 25%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.0 minTop 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year22.4%Bottom 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year82.7%90th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202611,010Bottom 6%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.2%Top 49%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.2%Bottom 21%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202611,4615th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year75.5%Bottom 43%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%19th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Bottom 46%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.9%Top 41%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%9th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.73.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.9% 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.

31% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 42% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 18.4 students for every full-time teacher across 14 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
18.4
across 14 of them
Math proficiency
30.7%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
41.5%
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Mountain Home SR High SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT91818.022%44%
West Elementary SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT55620.642%37%
Hacker Middle SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT53018.325%39%
Mountain Home Junior High SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT50018.541%51%
East Elementary SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT38619.342%42%
North Elementary SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT35719.837%37%
Stephensen Elementary SchoolMOUNTAIN HOME DISTRICT31219.547%47%
Richard McKenna Charter School - Online · charterIDAHO VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOL INC.21636.010%50%
Richard McKenna Charter School - Montessori · charterIDAHO VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOL INC.16416.410%10%
Glenns Ferry Elementary SchoolGLENNS FERRY JOINT DISTRICT13912.637%42%
Glenns Ferry High SchoolGLENNS FERRY JOINT DISTRICT12814.210%50%
Richard McKenna Charter School - Onsite · charterIDAHO VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOL INC.11316.1——

54.9% 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.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,701 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.54% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,192, close to the $1,243 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,192 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $47,700 a year, about 73% of the median household income here of $65,359.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,243 a month.

A median home at $316,500 costs 4.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $74,163, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
28.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,192
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,243
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$316,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Mountain Home’s median household income of $65,359, 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 to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year4.3Bottom 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year65.6%25th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±492024 ACS 5-Year12,2718th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$908Bottom 47%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,658Bottom 32%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,192Bottom 39%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$702024 ACS 5-Year$1,243Bottom 20%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$15,2512024 ACS 5-Year$316,50078th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$972024 ACS 5-Year$1,70141st percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,1882024 ACS 5-Year$74,163Bottom 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.54%19th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year28.2%Top 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1202024 ACS 5-Year59237th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year4.8%75th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%17th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2012024 ACS 5-Year1,2047th percentileof 9352024 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

66/ 100
Top 24% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running 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 4% since 2020, reaching 29,729 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 177 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 6.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
177
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.0
Top 19% nationally
Year over year
−4%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202430k29k
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 9°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 14.0 inches.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station HILL CITY 1 W, 21.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals14.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals9°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

10 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are wildfire, inland flooding and avalanche, with wildfire alone responsible for 59% of it. Avalanche is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

WildfireHigh
Heat waveElevated
EarthquakeModerate
Inland floodingModerate

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

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

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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Boise Air Trml/Gowen Fld at 39 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year91.2%Top 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle39 miTop 47%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 16%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.0%Top 32%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Boise Air Trml/Gowen FldBOI39 mi10,000 ft
Joslin Fld/Magic Valley RgnlTWF80 mi8,704 ft
Pocatello RgnlPIH149 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
47
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
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
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
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.

Cities in this metro