Here’s where Idaho’s population has grown the most, and the fastest, since 2020
New data from the Census Bureau shows which Idaho counties have grown the most and which have grown the fastest in the last two years.
Census officials on Thursday released new estimates of county-level population changes between April 2020 and July 2022. Idaho’s population grew from 1.8 million in 2020 to 1.9 million in 2022, according to census estimates. Ada County grew by 4.8% in that time period and gained nearly 24,000 people — almost a quarter of the new residents.
By July 2022, Ada County was home to more than 518,000 people, the Census Bureau estimated. It passed the half-a-million milestone in 2021.
Neighboring Canyon County grew by 8.6% and gained nearly 20,000 residents, bringing its population to about 250,000.
The vast majority of Ada County’s new residents — 22,000 of them — moved to Idaho from other places in the U.S. Just 700 of the new residents were international immigrants, and the remaining new residents were Idaho births.
The census estimates show growth in each of Idaho’s 44 counties, though some added just a handful of new residents in the last two years. Sixteen counties added more than 1,000 new residents since 2020.
Kootenai County, home to Coeur d’Alene, grew by 7.1% since 2020 and gained more than 12,000 residents in the two-year span, while Bonneville County, which is home to Idaho Falls, added 5,500. North Idaho’s Bonner County, where Sandpoint is located, rounded out the top five and added 4,300 new residents.
Idaho’s fastest-growing counties were largely small rural areas. Boundary County, which borders Canada, grew by 10.7% and added nearly 1,300 new residents. Adams County grew by 10% with an additional 252 residents, and Boise County grew by 9.5% with 720 new residents.
Bonner County made the top five fastest-growing counties as well, with a rate of 9.1%. Benewah County, home to St. Maries, was No. 5 with an 8.8% increase and 839 new residents.
Is growth slowing?
Idaho’s population has been on the rise for decades. Since July 2002, the state grew by nearly 600,000 residents, one-third of whom are in Ada County.
Growth in Ada County has largely remained consistent, growing by 28% between 2002 and 2012 and by 27% between 2012 and 2022. Despite the statewide growth, some of Idaho’s counties have seen population growth slow or even lost residents in the last 20 years. Butte, Caribou, Clark and Elmore counties all had fewer residents in 2022 than in 2002.
In the last several years, Idaho has been one of the fastest-growing states in the nation, according to census statistics. The statewide population has increased by about 1% to 2% each year for nearly a decade. Between 2020 and 2021, that jumped to roughly 3%, falling slightly to 2% between 2021 and 2022.
Most counties seemed to follow suit, with growth rates and numeric growth slowing after a 2020 boom.
