Boise-area growth still ranks high in the U.S. These smaller cities are driving it
Boise is still on the map when it comes to nation-leading population growth.
Well, the Boise area.
Last year, growth in the Boise Metropolitan Statistical Area helped drive Idaho to rank as the second-fastest growing state in the country by percentage, a U.S. Census report showed.
The Boise Metropolitan Statistical Area, you say? That’s Ada, Canyon, Boise, Gem and Owyhee counties combined. From 2024 to 2025, it was the 13th-fastest growing metropolitan area in the country — and second in the West.
But new city-level data from the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho, or Compass, offers a more granular look at where growth is happening fastest within the Treasure Valley, Idaho’s most populous hub.
And it’s not Boise that’s making the biggest leaps and bounds, the data shows.
Over the past year, as the Boise area’s population surpassed 876,000, two smaller cities experienced the most dramatic percentage-growth: Star and Kuna.
The Ada County cities grew by 14.7% and 14.2%, respectively. That’s far ahead of Boise, which grew by just over 1%, and even Meridian and Nampa, which grew 3.2% and 2.9%, respectively.
“While our population growth is spread throughout the region, the percentage of growth in some of our smaller communities is staggering,” said Austin Miller, a Compass planner, in a Wednesday news release from the planning agency.
Star, which straddles Ada and Canyon counties in the northern stretches of the Treasure Valley, has stood out in recent years for its explosive growth. In 2020, the Boise suburb had 11,117 residents, including 10 on the Canyon side of the county line, Compass estimates show. Now, 25,660 people call Star home, including 710 in Canyon County.
That’s a more than 130% increase.
Kuna, located southwest of Boise, ranked high in Compass’ most recent estimates on both its percent growth and the number of new residents added. Over the past year, it gained 4,810 people, bringing its population to 38,560 — and putting it within spitting distance of Eagle, now the third-largest city in Ada County.
That means Kuna gained the second-most residents of any city in the Treasure Valley, trailing only Caldwell, which added 5,160 people.
Meridian gained 4,730 new residents.
Compass updates its population estimates on April 1 each year using Census data that it bolsters with local building permit data, household sizes and vacancy rates, and annexations, according to the release. Compass’ board accepted the 2026 estimates on April 27.
Miller noted that analyzing population growth through different lenses, like percent change, change year-over-year and numeric change, can provide a more comprehensive understanding of growth patterns in the Valley.
“These distinctions underscore the importance of looking at the data from multiple viewpoints,” he said. “Each of these provides insight into how we are growing and helps COMPASS and the individual jurisdictions plan for the future.”
Overall, Ada and Canyon counties have added more than 150,000 residents since the 2020 Census, a combined growth rate of more than 20%.
Here are the newest population estimates:
Reporter Mark Dee contributed.
