Immigration. Housing. The economy. What Idahoans think about current key issues
What do Idahoans think about immigration? The economy? Would they leave the state?
Those are the questions that Boise State University’s Idaho Public Policy Survey aimed to answer in a recent poll. The Idaho Policy Institute, through a survey vendor, polled 1,000 Idahoans from Nov. 8 through Nov. 17, by phone, text and online. The survey’s margin of error is 3.1% and includes Idahoans from 42 of the state’s 44 counties (just missing Camas and Power counties).
Idahoans believe the state is headed in the right direction, but challenges remain. Here are the key takeaways from the newly released report.
1. Just over 42% of Idahoans expect the state’s economy to worsen
Nationwide polls reflect that consumer sentiment has fallen, amid an uncertain mix of good and bad economic factors
In Idaho, the most recent job numbers showed a 3.6% unemployment rate in December 2025, slightly down from November.
“The fact that you had tariffs on the top of people’s mind, we had the economic uncertainty and all of the price volatility over the summer, I think that was probably on a lot of people’s minds,” Matthew May, the survey research director and one of the report authors, said Friday morning. “Not quite knowing what is coming next is potentially why we see more people are bracing for economic uncertainty.”
The pessimism is strongest among Democrats, as well as for those in Eastern and Southwestern Idaho, according to the report. A majority of independents, 51%, also expect the economy to slump.
2. People want a focus on housing affordability amid challenges
The survey also gave Idahoans options to pick what should be the top priority when considering the state budget. The winner? Housing affordability, with 39% choosing that as the top option.
When asked about policies that could help with housing affordability, respondents picked lowering property taxes, followed by permitting reform and education and workforce training.
Just under two-thirds of Idahoans said they own their home, according to the survey, with most of the remainder, about 28%, renting.
Of those who rent, over half say they do so because home prices are too high. Another 17% say they don’t have enough saved for a down payment.
But financial challenges remain for people who aren’t renting: Just over one-third of homeowners said they feel financially trapped in their home. Young people under age 45, parents and grandparents of kids in public school and long-time Idaho residents are also more likely to feel trapped in their houses compared to those who are younger, not parents or grandparents or who are newer to the state.
“Those who feel trapped in their homes are more likely to feel pessimistic about Idaho’s economic future,” Lantz McGinnis-Brown, another survey author, told reporters.
3. One-fifth of Idahoans are finding it hard to get by
That’s in comparison to the 43% who told surveyors they were “just getting by” and 35% who say they are living comfortably. Many of the people who are struggling also think the economy will worsen.
There’s a “strong relationship,” between education level and the probability that an Idahoan is feeling good financially, according to McGinnis-Brown.
4. The majority of Idahoans, 53%, believe that an increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence would harm Idaho agriculture
Another 19% said it would help the agriculture economy. But the answers saw big partisan and geographic variations. In south-central Idaho, 63% said it would harm the industry compared to 39% in northern Idaho.
Unsurprisingly, Democrats were much more likely (88%) to say an ICE presence would harm Idaho agriculture compared to just 27% of Republicans. The majority of independents (64%), agreed it would hurt the sector.
Idaho has seen increased immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump and ICE agents have changed up their tactics, including smashing car windows, according to previous Statesman reporting. ICE has recently been at the Canyon County courthouse as well as the Boise Airport for operations, the Statesman previously reported.
In October, an FBI and ICE raid drew criticism over family separations. At the raid, the Caldwell Police Department zip-tied some children.
Idahoans also overwhelmingly supported a pathway to legal status for dairy workers and their families who have been in the state for more than a decade and have no criminal record.
“Every region of the state had more than 80%,” McGinnis-Brown said. “And across parties. Every party had more than 78% support.”
Dairy officials have estimated that close to 90% of its workforce is foreign-born. Because dairy work is year-round, dairymen don’t have access to visas.
5. Would Idahoans consider leaving the state if they could afford it personally and professionally?
A full 40% of Idahoans said they were likely to consider living somewhere else. Democrats were more likely to say this at 55% followed by independents at 46% and Republicans at 28%.
Renters and people with lower-incomes were also more likely to consider leaving than homeowners and people with higher-incomes, the report said.
6. Idahoans believe in the state’s elections
Around 80% of respondents said they were “very” or “somewhat” confident in Idaho’s elections.
Idaho lawmakers introduced flurries of bills on the topic in the years after the 2020 election addressing security. But once Trump retook office after the 2024 election, legislators stopped focusing as much on election integrity.
“The November election, a combination of the results but also how we ran it, answered a lot of people’s questions,” Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane previously told the Statesman. “For a healthy number of Idahoans, they seem to have moved on … elections just isn’t at the top.”
This story was originally published January 23, 2026 at 2:56 PM.
