Idaho hits a population milestone. But did the Gem State pass Nebraska in the rankings?
Idaho has over 2 million people for the first time in its history, according to an Idaho Department of Labor news release. And though the state still ranks behind Nebraska, the gap is shrinking.
The new Idaho milestone wasn’t unexpected. Officials told the Idaho Statesman in January that they expected this within the next year or two.
“Idaho’s population continued its long-running pattern of growth in 2024,” the release said. “These estimates showed most of Idaho’s growth continues to come from net migration into the state.”
Recently, just 14,000 residents separated the Gem State from the Cornhusker State, according to previous Statesman reporting.
Census Bureau estimates show that 2,001,619 people resided in the Gem State as of July 1 of this year. But Nebraska hit 2,005,465 this year, according to the Nebraska Examiner.
That’s a gap of only about 4,000, though Nebraska was one of the fastest-growing Midwest states.
Idaho’s growth rate was 1.5%, which was the seventh-highest in the nation, the release said. Natural growth (births minus deaths) made up just 20% of the state’s population increase. The majority of growth came from migration within the U.S., the release said.
The U.S. population overall grew by almost 1% between last year and this year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It was the fastest annual growth since 2001, according to the bureau’s website.
