Counties with the most born-and-bred residents in Idaho
The combination of inflation and increased work-from-home opportunities brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted migration patterns across the United States, the effects of which are still being felt in 2024, according to the latest Census Bureau data.
In the first year of the pandemic, migration out of densely populated, expensive cities like New York and San Francisco was especially notable. Many moved to Sun Belt states where the weather is warmer and the cost of living significantly lower.
But by the second year of the pandemic, it became clear that not everyone who was moving wanted to go far. A 2022 analysis of movement out of crowded cities from Stateline showed that many people leaving city centers moved to nearby suburbs in the same state. In Texas, for example, moves out of Houston rose 62% in the first month of the pandemic; meanwhile, the western suburb of Katy saw more new residents move in than any other part of the country.
According to the latest data from the Census Bureau, released in September 2023, 53.5% of people who moved in 2022 did so within the same county and an additional 24.3% remained in state, meaning more than three-quarters of movers stuck close to home.
Many young people in particular are remaining in the state, town, or even house that they grew up in. Before the pandemic, the number of younger adults living with their parents was on the rise and those patterns have continued. A late 2023 survey released by Lending Tree found that 57% of millennials and Gen Zers live in their hometowns.
Many people choose not to leave the state they were raised in for reasons ranging from wanting to be close to family, to not having the resources to leave, to sticking with a lower cost of living.
In order to determine where people stay put in your home state, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the most born-and-bred residents in Idaho using data from the Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest percentage of residents who were born in the state according to the latest data, which is 2022 five-year estimates. The percentage of residents who were born in another state, a U.S. territory, and another country is also included.
Read on to find out where the most loyal Idaho residents live.
#44. Teton County
- Population: 11,813
- Born in Idaho: 3,242 (27.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 7,405 (62.7% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 106 (0.9% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,060 (9.0% of population)
#43. Bonner County
- Population: 47,976
- Born in Idaho: 13,328 (27.8% of population)
- Born in a different state: 33,340 (69.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 409 (0.9% of population)
- Born in another country: 899 (1.9% of population)
#42. Boundary County
- Population: 12,335
- Born in Idaho: 3,639 (29.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 7,993 (64.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 191 (1.5% of population)
- Born in another country: 512 (4.2% of population)
#41. Elmore County
- Population: 28,752
- Born in Idaho: 8,674 (30.2% of population)
- Born in a different state: 16,626 (57.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 882 (3.1% of population)
- Born in another country: 2,570 (8.9% of population)
#40. Oneida County
- Population: 4,572
- Born in Idaho: 1,397 (30.6% of population)
- Born in a different state: 3,067 (67.1% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 44 (1.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 64 (1.4% of population)
#39. Blaine County
- Population: 24,248
- Born in Idaho: 7,621 (31.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 12,249 (50.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 263 (1.1% of population)
- Born in another country: 4,115 (17.0% of population)
#38. Kootenai County
- Population: 173,396
- Born in Idaho: 54,520 (31.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 113,660 (65.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,392 (0.8% of population)
- Born in another country: 3,824 (2.2% of population)
#37. Franklin County
- Population: 14,376
- Born in Idaho: 4,878 (33.9% of population)
- Born in a different state: 8,974 (62.4% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 130 (0.9% of population)
- Born in another country: 394 (2.7% of population)
#36. Payette County
- Population: 25,571
- Born in Idaho: 8,830 (34.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 15,283 (59.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 62 (0.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,396 (5.5% of population)
#35. Benewah County
- Population: 9,731
- Born in Idaho: 3,400 (34.9% of population)
- Born in a different state: 6,117 (62.9% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 117 (1.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 97 (1.0% of population)
#34. Boise County
- Population: 7,809
- Born in Idaho: 2,921 (37.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 4,573 (58.6% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 58 (0.7% of population)
- Born in another country: 257 (3.3% of population)
#33. Latah County
- Population: 39,872
- Born in Idaho: 15,294 (38.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 22,262 (55.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 562 (1.4% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,754 (4.4% of population)
#32. Madison County
- Population: 52,487
- Born in Idaho: 20,773 (39.6% of population)
- Born in a different state: 29,254 (55.7% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 320 (0.6% of population)
- Born in another country: 2,140 (4.1% of population)
#31. Washington County
- Population: 10,612
- Born in Idaho: 4,222 (39.8% of population)
- Born in a different state: 5,676 (53.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 65 (0.6% of population)
- Born in another country: 649 (6.1% of population)
#30. Adams County
- Population: 4,464
- Born in Idaho: 1,795 (40.2% of population)
- Born in a different state: 2,565 (57.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 65 (1.5% of population)
- Born in another country: 39 (0.9% of population)
#29. Ada County
- Population: 497,494
- Born in Idaho: 200,376 (40.3% of population)
- Born in a different state: 261,302 (52.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 7,055 (1.4% of population)
- Born in another country: 28,761 (5.8% of population)
#28. Lemhi County
- Population: 8,043
- Born in Idaho: 3,408 (42.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 4,518 (56.2% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 31 (0.4% of population)
- Born in another country: 86 (1.1% of population)
#27. Camas County
- Population: 1,133
- Born in Idaho: 489 (43.2% of population)
- Born in a different state: 623 (55.0% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 6 (0.5% of population)
- Born in another country: 15 (1.3% of population)
#26. Clark County
- Population: 756
- Born in Idaho: 328 (43.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 172 (22.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 24 (3.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 232 (30.7% of population)
#25. Clearwater County
- Population: 8,810
- Born in Idaho: 3,840 (43.6% of population)
- Born in a different state: 4,743 (53.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 43 (0.5% of population)
- Born in another country: 184 (2.1% of population)
#24. Custer County
- Population: 4,344
- Born in Idaho: 1,899 (43.7% of population)
- Born in a different state: 2,334 (53.7% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 81 (1.9% of population)
- Born in another country: 30 (0.7% of population)
#23. Canyon County
- Population: 235,006
- Born in Idaho: 109,995 (46.8% of population)
- Born in a different state: 102,296 (43.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 3,046 (1.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 19,669 (8.4% of population)
#22. Gem County
- Population: 19,250
- Born in Idaho: 9,116 (47.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 8,919 (46.3% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 130 (0.7% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,085 (5.6% of population)
#21. Valley County
- Population: 11,830
- Born in Idaho: 5,619 (47.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 6,037 (51.0% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 99 (0.8% of population)
- Born in another country: 75 (0.6% of population)
#20. Shoshone County
- Population: 13,399
- Born in Idaho: 6,528 (48.7% of population)
- Born in a different state: 6,611 (49.3% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 83 (0.6% of population)
- Born in another country: 177 (1.3% of population)
#19. Idaho County
- Population: 16,787
- Born in Idaho: 8,220 (49.0% of population)
- Born in a different state: 8,162 (48.6% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 106 (0.6% of population)
- Born in another country: 299 (1.8% of population)
#18. Jerome County
- Population: 24,474
- Born in Idaho: 12,578 (51.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 7,320 (29.9% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 360 (1.5% of population)
- Born in another country: 4,216 (17.2% of population)
#17. Lewis County
- Population: 3,630
- Born in Idaho: 1,869 (51.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 1,644 (45.3% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 59 (1.6% of population)
- Born in another country: 58 (1.6% of population)
#16. Nez Perce County
- Population: 42,200
- Born in Idaho: 21,786 (51.6% of population)
- Born in a different state: 19,164 (45.4% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 280 (0.7% of population)
- Born in another country: 970 (2.3% of population)
#15. Lincoln County
- Population: 5,203
- Born in Idaho: 2,735 (52.6% of population)
- Born in a different state: 1,604 (30.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 30 (0.6% of population)
- Born in another country: 834 (16.0% of population)
#14. Owyhee County
- Population: 12,043
- Born in Idaho: 6,353 (52.8% of population)
- Born in a different state: 4,500 (37.4% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 121 (1.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,069 (8.9% of population)
#13. Gooding County
- Population: 15,520
- Born in Idaho: 8,238 (53.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 5,203 (33.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 162 (1.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,917 (12.4% of population)
#12. Twin Falls County
- Population: 90,592
- Born in Idaho: 48,089 (53.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 34,448 (38.0% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 560 (0.6% of population)
- Born in another country: 7,495 (8.3% of population)
#11. Bonneville County
- Population: 124,490
- Born in Idaho: 69,407 (55.8% of population)
- Born in a different state: 49,076 (39.4% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 907 (0.7% of population)
- Born in another country: 5,100 (4.1% of population)
#10. Caribou County
- Population: 7,058
- Born in Idaho: 3,936 (55.8% of population)
- Born in a different state: 2,755 (39.0% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 10 (0.1% of population)
- Born in another country: 357 (5.1% of population)
#9. Fremont County
- Population: 13,519
- Born in Idaho: 7,850 (58.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 4,869 (36.0% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 36 (0.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 764 (5.7% of population)
#8. Bannock County
- Population: 87,434
- Born in Idaho: 51,014 (58.3% of population)
- Born in a different state: 32,638 (37.3% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 821 (0.9% of population)
- Born in another country: 2,961 (3.4% of population)
#7. Cassia County
- Population: 24,859
- Born in Idaho: 14,745 (59.3% of population)
- Born in a different state: 7,465 (30.0% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 246 (1.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 2,403 (9.7% of population)
#6. Bear Lake County
- Population: 6,436
- Born in Idaho: 3,876 (60.2% of population)
- Born in a different state: 2,379 (37.0% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 24 (0.4% of population)
- Born in another country: 157 (2.4% of population)
#5. Minidoka County
- Population: 21,626
- Born in Idaho: 13,037 (60.3% of population)
- Born in a different state: 5,832 (27.0% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 57 (0.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 2,700 (12.5% of population)
#4. Butte County
- Population: 2,605
- Born in Idaho: 1,601 (61.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 919 (35.3% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 7 (0.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 78 (3.0% of population)
#3. Jefferson County
- Population: 31,383
- Born in Idaho: 20,664 (65.8% of population)
- Born in a different state: 9,004 (28.7% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 409 (1.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,306 (4.2% of population)
#2. Bingham County
- Population: 48,253
- Born in Idaho: 32,556 (67.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 12,903 (26.7% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 263 (0.5% of population)
- Born in another country: 2,531 (5.2% of population)
#1. Power County
- Population: 7,918
- Born in Idaho: 5,508 (69.6% of population)
- Born in a different state: 1,274 (16.1% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 24 (0.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,112 (14.0% of population)
This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 49 states.
