There’s no denying it: there are plenty of places in Idaho that are downright beautiful and full of excitement.
Unfortunately, not all towns and cities in Gem State are so lucky.
Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within Idaho’s’ borders. You know the places where everyone has an AARP card and the most exciting thing they do all day is post a picture of their grandchild on Facebook.
Like Eagle, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of Idaho according to Saturday Night Science. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Eagle. There are plenty of other boring, lackluster places in Idaho as well.
Here they are. Try not to jump out of your seat with excitement.
47.6 median age · 15.0% married households · #1 oldest in Idaho
Located in
Ada County, Idaho
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
40.3 median age · 13.0% married households · #6 oldest in Idaho
Located in
Canyon County, Idaho
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
31.4 median age · 24.0% married households · #28 oldest in Idaho
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
37.1 median age · 15.0% married households · #10 oldest in Idaho
Located in
Kootenai County, Idaho
Rathdrum is a city in Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. The population was 6,826 at the 2010 census, up from 4816 in 2000. It is part of the Coeur d’Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the entire county. It is named after Rathdrum in Ireland.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
34.2 median age · 21.0% married households · #19 oldest in Idaho
Preston is a city in Franklin County, Idaho, United States. The population was 5,204 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Franklin County. It is part of the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
39.8 median age · 21.0% married households · #8 oldest in Idaho
Located in
Nez Perce County, Idaho
Lewiston is a city in north central Idaho and the county seat of Nez Perce County. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d’Alene, and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is the principal city of the Lewiston, ID – Clarkston, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Nez Perce County and Asotin County, Washington. As of the 2010 census, the population of Lewiston was 31,894, up from 30,904 in 2000.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
42.1 median age · 11.0% married households · #2 oldest in Idaho
Located in
Kootenai County, Idaho
Hayden is a city in Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. Located in the northern portion of the state, it is a suburb of nearby Coeur d’Alene and its population was 13,294 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
31.8 median age · 17.0% married households · #25 oldest in Idaho
Located in
Ada County, Idaho
Kuna is a city in Ada County, Idaho, United States. It is part of the Boise City-Nampa, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,210 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
32.9 median age · 25.0% married households · #23 oldest in Idaho
Located in
Bonneville County, Idaho
Ammon is an edge city of Idaho Falls in Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. As of the 2010 US Census, the population of Ammon was 13,816.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
41.1 median age · 11.0% married households · #5 oldest in Idaho
Weiser is a city in the rural western part of the U.S. state of Idaho and the county seat of Washington County. With its mild climate, the city supports farm, orchard, and livestock endeavors in the vicinity. The city sits at the confluence of the Weiser River with the great Snake River, which marks the border with Oregon. The population was 5,507 at the 2010 census.
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.
On the map
Where the quiet settles in Idaho
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the boring cities in the Gem State
You would present the following case to your friends if you were argueing with them at a bar about the most boring place to live in Idaho. And that’s why we call it Saturday Night Science.
Because our data speaks more truth than feelings.
To figure out how boring a place is, we factored in things we generally think make people exciting, and then we figure out which cities have the least number of those exciting people.
We used the U.S. American Community Census data to gather the information presented here. Some of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring include:
- % of Population Over 25 (higher is more boring)
- % of Married Household (higher is more boring)
- Average Age (higher is more boring)
- % of Households With Kids (higher is more boring)
- Population density (lower is more boring)
Then, our algorithm generates a ranking for each place in these categories. After crunching the numbers, all of the cities ranked from most boring to most exciting.
For this ranking, we used every Idaho city with at least 5,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.
Grab your rocker and hold on.
We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the most boring cities in Idaho.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Most Boring Cities In Idaho For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Boring Score | Population | Average Age | % Married | % Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eagle | 9.90 | 32,855 | 47.6 | 15.0% | 30.9% |
| 2 | Star | 11.60 | 14,745 | 40.3 | 13.0% | 35.8% |
| 3 | Rigby | 12.30 | 5,404 | 31.4 | 24.0% | 48.9% |
| 4 | Rathdrum | 13.10 | 10,874 | 37.1 | 15.0% | 34.5% |
| 5 | Preston | 13.20 | 5,928 | 34.2 | 21.0% | 37.0% |
| 6 | Lewiston | 13.20 | 34,651 | 39.8 | 21.0% | 27.7% |
| 7 | Hayden | 13.30 | 16,338 | 42.1 | 11.0% | 30.0% |
| 8 | Kuna | 14.20 | 27,158 | 31.8 | 17.0% | 45.8% |
| 9 | Ammon | 14.40 | 19,064 | 32.9 | 25.0% | 39.6% |
| 10 | Weiser | 14.70 | 5,935 | 41.1 | 11.0% | 29.6% |
| 11 | Sandpoint | 14.70 | 9,637 | 41.5 | 11.0% | 26.7% |
| 12 | Kimberly | 14.80 | 5,111 | 32.2 | 27.0% | 52.8% |
| 13 | Middleton | 14.80 | 10,649 | 36.1 | 12.0% | 38.1% |
| 14 | Blackfoot | 15.90 | 12,782 | 34.7 | 24.0% | 34.6% |
| 15 | Hailey | 16.00 | 9,665 | 41.3 | 10.0% | 35.8% |
| 16 | Payette | 16.60 | 8,536 | 36.5 | 10.0% | 34.3% |
| 17 | Chubbuck | 16.60 | 16,126 | 35.9 | 30.0% | 36.1% |
| 18 | Meridian | 16.60 | 130,138 | 37.5 | 16.0% | 34.8% |
| 19 | Emmett | 16.80 | 8,275 | 36.3 | 16.0% | 31.5% |
| 20 | Pocatello | 17.60 | 57,635 | 33.1 | 21.0% | 30.0% |
| 21 | Twin Falls | 18.20 | 54,164 | 35.1 | 19.0% | 33.9% |
| 22 | Fruitland | 18.50 | 6,663 | 34.8 | 11.0% | 35.5% |
| 23 | Shelley | 18.60 | 5,092 | 30.8 | 37.0% | 46.9% |
| 24 | Burley | 18.60 | 11,958 | 31.2 | 21.0% | 35.5% |
| 25 | Nampa | 18.60 | 110,319 | 33.9 | 16.0% | 36.6% |
| 26 | Idaho Falls | 19.00 | 67,725 | 33.7 | 21.0% | 35.0% |
| 27 | Jerome | 19.70 | 12,930 | 30.9 | 15.0% | 52.5% |
| 28 | Caldwell | 20.10 | 66,516 | 31.5 | 15.0% | 43.0% |
| 29 | Post Falls | 20.40 | 43,391 | 35.0 | 9.0% | 33.9% |
| 30 | Coeur d’Alene | 20.80 | 56,447 | 40.1 | 10.0% | 25.9% |
| 31 | Rupert | 22.20 | 6,190 | 29.5 | 20.0% | 45.0% |
| 32 | Mountain Home | 24.70 | 16,493 | 31.7 | 8.0% | 34.3% |
| 33 | Rexburg | 32.00 | 40,543 | 21.0 | 7.0% | 29.1% |
| 34 | Moscow | 33.30 | 26,286 | 25.7 | 8.0% | 25.4% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 34 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
On a ranking like this, there are usually no winners, but since Idaho isn’t necessarily the most boring state in the United States, the cities on this ranking can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.
The most boring cities in Idaho are Eagle, Star, Rigby, Rathdrum, Preston, Lewiston, Hayden, Kuna, Ammon, and Weiser.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the most exciting places in Idaho, according to science.
