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.
$50,617 median income · 32.5% poverty · #2 lowest income in Idaho
Located in
Madison County, Idaho
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$45,292 median income · 20.5% poverty · #1 lowest income in Idaho
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$57,022 median income · 25.1% poverty · #5 lowest income in Idaho
Located in
Latah County, Idaho
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 25.1% 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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$54,741 median income · 19.4% poverty · #3 lowest income in Idaho
Located in
Minidoka County, Idaho
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$58,750 median income · 18.3% poverty · #6 lowest income in Idaho
Located in
Gem County, Idaho
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$55,208 median income · 13.9% poverty · #4 lowest income in Idaho
Located in
Payette County, Idaho
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$60,418 median income · 14.8% poverty · #7 lowest income in Idaho
Located in
Power County, Idaho
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$67,468 median income · 15.3% poverty · #14 lowest income in Idaho
Located in
Minidoka County, Idaho
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$61,205 median income · 11.4% poverty · #9 lowest income in Idaho
Located in
Twin Falls County, Idaho
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$72,289 median income · 14.6% poverty · #17 lowest income in Idaho
Located in
Bonner County, Idaho
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Idaho’s statewide median.
Idaho statewide median: $77,800
Idaho statewide median: 10.6%
On the map
Where poverty hits hardest in Idaho
Saturday Night Science
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”. The median Idaho home is 33 years old — old enough that it pays to compare home warranty plans before something expensive breaks.
The full plate
Detailed list of the poorest places to live in Idaho
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Poor Score | Population | Median income | Poverty | Unemployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rexburg | 1.50 | 40,543 | $50,617 | 32.5% | 8.8% |
| 2 | Weiser | 2.00 | 5,935 | $45,292 | 20.5% | 5.9% |
| 3 | Moscow | 3.50 | 26,286 | $57,022 | 25.1% | 7.9% |
| 4 | Rupert | 3.50 | 6,190 | $54,741 | 19.4% | 5.7% |
| 5 | Emmett | 6.00 | 8,275 | $58,750 | 18.3% | 2.1% |
| 6 | Payette | 7.00 | 8,536 | $55,208 | 13.9% | 5.2% |
| 7 | Pocatello | 7.50 | 57,635 | $60,418 | 14.8% | 4.4% |
| 8 | Burley | 10.50 | 11,958 | $67,468 | 15.3% | 2.8% |
| 9 | Twin Falls | 13.00 | 54,164 | $61,205 | 11.4% | 3.0% |
| 10 | Sandpoint | 13.00 | 9,637 | $72,289 | 14.6% | 2.5% |
| 11 | Lewiston | 13.50 | 34,651 | $72,197 | 12.5% | 2.5% |
| 12 | Garden City | 14.00 | 12,654 | $70,124 | 12.0% | 3.4% |
| 13 | Mountain Home | 14.00 | 16,493 | $63,125 | 11.4% | 6.1% |
| 14 | Preston | 14.50 | 5,928 | $61,039 | 11.0% | 2.7% |
| 15 | Jerome | 16.00 | 12,930 | $66,894 | 11.2% | 4.6% |
| 16 | Caldwell | 16.50 | 66,516 | $73,058 | 11.9% | 5.0% |
| 17 | Blackfoot | 17.50 | 12,782 | $64,032 | 10.6% | 7.8% |
| 18 | Idaho Falls | 17.50 | 67,725 | $73,110 | 11.5% | 4.2% |
| 19 | Nampa | 18.50 | 110,319 | $74,279 | 11.5% | 3.1% |
| 20 | Kimberly | 19.00 | 5,111 | $97,799 | 19.3% | 0.0% |
| 21 | Fruitland | 19.50 | 6,663 | $65,457 | 8.8% | 1.8% |
| 22 | Rathdrum | 20.50 | 10,874 | $86,563 | 12.4% | 1.6% |
| 23 | Post Falls | 21.50 | 43,391 | $82,183 | 11.1% | 3.3% |
| 24 | Coeur d’Alene | 22.00 | 56,447 | $72,338 | 9.2% | 2.9% |
| 25 | Shelley | 22.00 | 5,092 | $77,563 | 10.8% | 7.0% |
| 26 | Boise City | 24.50 | 237,242 | $83,904 | 10.6% | 3.6% |
| 27 | Rigby | 26.00 | 5,404 | $85,056 | 9.7% | 2.2% |
| 28 | Hayden | 26.50 | 16,338 | $82,958 | 7.8% | 3.1% |
| 29 | Middleton | 29.00 | 10,649 | $89,013 | 7.9% | 4.1% |
| 30 | Chubbuck | 29.50 | 16,126 | $82,977 | 6.0% | 4.3% |
| 31 | Hailey | 30.50 | 9,665 | $90,760 | 7.4% | 2.3% |
| 32 | Kuna | 31.50 | 27,158 | $96,219 | 6.8% | 1.9% |
| 33 | Ammon | 32.00 | 19,064 | $86,121 | 5.4% | 5.1% |
| 34 | Eagle | 34.00 | 32,855 | $122,894 | 6.1% | 2.0% |
| 35 | Meridian | 34.00 | 130,138 | $100,795 | 6.0% | 2.7% |
| 36 | Star | 34.50 | 14,745 | $97,936 | 5.8% | 6.9% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 36 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
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. Not sold on Idaho? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
