Like all states, Idaho has certain places that are going on hard times. These Idaho places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Idaho.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 36 cities in Idaho with more than 5,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
What’s the poorest city in Idaho? According to the facts, Rexburg is the poorest place in Idaho for 2026.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more Idaho reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Idaho
- Cheapest Places To Live In Idaho
- Most Dangerous Cities In Idaho
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In Idaho For 2026
1. Rexburg
/10
Population: 40,543
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $50,617 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 32.5% (highest)
People In Poverty: 13,176
More on Rexburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Rexburg, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Idaho thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 40,543 people averages the 2nd lowest median household income in Idaho and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Weiser
/10
Population: 5,935
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $45,292 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 20.5% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 1,216
More on Weiser: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
The second poorest city in Idaho is Weiser.
The city ranks as having the 3rd highest incidence of poverty and lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 7th highest in the Gem State.
3. Moscow
/10
Population: 26,286
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $57,022 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 25.1% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 6,589
More on Moscow: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Placing as the third poorest city, Moscow’s median income ranks as the 5th lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 25.07% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Gem State.
4. Rupert
/10
Population: 6,190
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $54,741 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 19.4% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,199
More on Rupert: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Rupert ranks as the fourth poorest place in Idaho.
The town ranks as having the 3rd lowest median household income and the 4th highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Emmett
/10
Population: 8,275
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 6)
Median Income: $58,750 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 18.3% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,514
More on Emmett: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
The fifth poorest city in Idaho is Emmett.
The city ranks as having the 6th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 6th highest in Idaho.
Still not the best news for Emmett.
6. Payette
/10
Population: 8,536
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Income: $55,208 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 13.9% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,186
More on Payette: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Payette ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Gem State.
It ranks as having the 10th highest incidence of poverty and the 9th highest unemployment rate.
7. Pocatello
/10
Population: 57,635
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $60,418 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 14.8% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 8,553
More on Pocatello: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Pocatello places as the seventh poorest city in Idaho.
The city of over 57,635 ranks as having the 8th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Burley
/10
Population: 11,958
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 1)
Median Income: $67,468 (14th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 15.3% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,831
More on Burley: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
Burley ranks as the eighth poorest city in Idaho.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. Twin Falls
/10
Population: 54,164
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 5)
Median Income: $61,205 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 11.4% (17th highest)
People In Poverty: 6,180
More on Twin Falls: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Twin Falls couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Idaho; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 9th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Twin Falls ranks as having the 17th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Idaho.
10. Sandpoint
/10
Population: 9,637
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Income: $72,289 (17th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 14.6% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,410
More on Sandpoint: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Idaho is Sandpoint.
The city of 9,637 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Gem State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Idaho for 2026
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2020-2024 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 36 places with more than 5,000 people in Idaho, we ranked each place from 1 to 36 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Rexburg, crowned the “Poorest Place In Idaho For 2026”.
This report has been updated for 2026, which is our eleventh time ranking the poorest places in Idaho.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Idaho For 2026
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Idaho, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Idaho.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Idaho, according to data:
- Richest: Star
2nd Richest: Meridian
3rd Richest: Eagle
For more Idaho reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Idaho
- Safest Places In Idaho
- Worst Places To Live In Idaho
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Idaho
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Idaho
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rexburg | 40,543 | 32.5% | $50,617 | 13,176 |
| 2 | Weiser | 5,935 | 20.5% | $45,292 | 1,216 |
| 3 | Moscow | 26,286 | 25.1% | $57,022 | 6,589 |
| 4 | Rupert | 6,190 | 19.4% | $54,741 | 1,199 |
| 5 | Emmett | 8,275 | 18.3% | $58,750 | 1,514 |
| 6 | Payette | 8,536 | 13.9% | $55,208 | 1,186 |
| 7 | Pocatello | 57,635 | 14.8% | $60,418 | 8,553 |
| 8 | Burley | 11,958 | 15.3% | $67,468 | 1,831 |
| 9 | Twin Falls | 54,164 | 11.4% | $61,205 | 6,180 |
| 10 | Sandpoint | 9,637 | 14.6% | $72,289 | 1,410 |
| 11 | Lewiston | 34,651 | 12.5% | $72,197 | 4,338 |
| 12 | Garden City | 12,654 | 12.0% | $70,124 | 1,522 |
| 13 | Mountain Home | 16,493 | 11.4% | $63,125 | 1,878 |
| 14 | Preston | 5,928 | 11.0% | $61,039 | 653 |
| 15 | Jerome | 12,930 | 11.2% | $66,894 | 1,445 |
| 16 | Caldwell | 66,516 | 11.9% | $73,058 | 7,942 |
| 17 | Blackfoot | 12,782 | 10.6% | $64,032 | 1,351 |
| 18 | Idaho Falls | 67,725 | 11.5% | $73,110 | 7,801 |
| 19 | Nampa | 110,319 | 11.5% | $74,279 | 12,675 |
| 20 | Kimberly | 5,111 | 19.3% | $97,799 | 986 |
| 21 | Fruitland | 6,663 | 8.8% | $65,457 | 587 |
| 22 | Rathdrum | 10,874 | 12.4% | $86,563 | 1,348 |
| 23 | Post Falls | 43,391 | 11.1% | $82,183 | 4,803 |
| 24 | Coeur d’Alene | 56,447 | 9.2% | $72,338 | 5,170 |
| 25 | Shelley | 5,092 | 10.8% | $77,563 | 551 |
| 26 | Boise City | 237,242 | 10.6% | $83,904 | 25,076 |
| 27 | Rigby | 5,404 | 9.7% | $85,056 | 522 |
| 28 | Hayden | 16,338 | 7.8% | $82,958 | 1,274 |
| 29 | Middleton | 10,649 | 7.9% | $89,013 | 843 |
| 30 | Chubbuck | 16,126 | 6.0% | $82,977 | 965 |
| 31 | Hailey | 9,665 | 7.3% | $90,760 | 710 |
| 32 | Kuna | 27,158 | 6.8% | $96,219 | 1,852 |
| 33 | Ammon | 19,064 | 5.4% | $86,121 | 1,031 |
| 34 | Eagle | 32,855 | 6.1% | $122,894 | 2,010 |
| 35 | Meridian | 130,138 | 6.0% | $100,795 | 7,808 |
| 36 | Star | 14,745 | 5.8% | $97,936 | 853 |