Idaho Department of Labor Press Release
Meridian’s population grew 4.5 percent in 2016, ranking it 13th nationally, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Meridian was the state’s fastest-growing city with a population increase of 4,122 or 4.5 percent. Boise remains the largest city with a population of 223,154.
Three-fourths of Idaho’s cities – 148 – grew in 2016, according to population estimates released today. Only 30 Idaho communities lost population though the losses were small. Grangeville experienced the largest drop with 19 fewer people. The remaining 22 communities saw no change.
Idaho’s seven cities classified as large with a population over 50,000 – Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Caldwell and Coeur d’Alene – grew by 2 percent combined from mid-2015 to mid-2016, outpacing statewide population growth of 1.8 percent. Coeur d’Alene was one of five cities nationally that crossed the 50,000 threshold, adding 1,154 people, an increase of 2.3 percent for a 2016 population of 50,285.
Forty-one percent of the state’s total increase of 30,312 people was in the seven large cities, but that was down from 48 percent between mid-2014 and mid-2015. Between mid-2015 and mid-2016 the seven cities comprised 37 percent of the state’s population.
Ada County accounts for 26 percent of the state’s total population and saw 35 percent of the statewide population gain in 2016, down from 37 percent in 2015.
The majority of Idaho’s cities – 167 – are classified as small with a population of less than 5,000. These range from Shelley with a population of 4,342 to Warm River with only three people. These cities accounted for only 9 percent of the state’s population and contributed only 6 percent to its growth.
Twenty-six cities had population ranging from 5,000 to less than 50,000. Twin Falls is the largest in this group with a population of 48,260 and Fruitland the smallest with 5,136. These cities accounted for 23 percent of Idaho’s population and 28 percent of the growth.
Dover in Bonner County saw the largest percentage population increase at 10.5 percent, adding 35 residents, from 645 to 713 but ranks only 104 in the state by population. The largest percentage population decrease at 3 percent was Spencer in Clark County with a loss of one person from 33 to 32.
The population of all 200 Idaho communities – from Warm River with three people to Boise with 223,154 – was just over 1.2 million or 70 percent of the statewide population. In 1990, only 62 percent of the population lived within an incorporated city.
Details can be found on the labor market website.
