Idaho’s 44 counties grew by 1.5%, or over 30,497 new residents, between July 2023 and July 2024, according to recent U.S. Census population estimates. Higher population counties experienced more growth than rural areas, in line with a nationwide trend of metro areas seeing a resurgence after the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic, Idaho’s growth was more evenly dispersed across less populated rural counties and more populated urban counties.
“The COVID-19 pandemic brought a rush of new residents to Idaho, particularly impacting rural areas of low population density that offered outdoor recreation,” said Labor Economist Jan Roeser.
“This growth spurt has reversed in a good portion of Idaho’s smaller counties, likely due to the larger population areas having more services to offer the aging populations.”
The top 10 most populated counties in Idaho contributed 26,076 new residents to the overall population from July 2023 to July 2024 — an uptick of 30% from the prior year. Only one of these counties – Nez Perce — slowed in pace from 2023.
Combined, the populated counties seen in the table below were responsible for 86% of Idaho’s growth in 2024, a jump from the 2023 level of 74.6%.
Twelve counties outpaced the state’s growth rate in 2024, including Ada, Adams, Bonner, Bonneville, Boundary, Canyon, Gem, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Lincoln and Teton.
The largest component of Idaho’s robust growth over the past decade has been immigration from other states.
In 2024, net immigration contributed 80% of Idaho’s growth, with only a handful of counties experiencing negative net migration — when more residents are moving out than are moving in. Counties with negative net migration include Bear Lake, Butte, Caribou, Clark, Elmore, Madison and Owyhee.
Natural change, or births minus deaths, added only 20% of the population growth in 2024. Counties that experienced negative natural change included Adams, Benewah, Boise, Bonner, Butte, Clearwater, Custer, Gem, Idaho, Lemhi, Lewis, Nez Perce, Shoshone and Washington.
In 2024, nine of Idaho’s counties lost population, compared with only two counties in 2023. Those counties that lost residents were mostly smaller in population — excluding Nez Perce — and included Bear Lake, Butte, Clark, Clearwater, Idaho, Lemhi, Lewis and Owyhee.
For more information on U.S. Census releases, visit census.gov/data.
The Idaho Department of Labor has more census data available at lmi.idaho.gov/census.
