The 10 Worst Small Towns In Idaho For 2024

Most Americans have never been to small town Idaho. However, as the Idahoan who live there know, small town Idaho is an awesome place to call home.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Idaho has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Gem State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.

After analyzing more than 66 of Idaho’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Idaho where you’d never want to live:

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Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

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These are the worst small towns in Idaho for 2024:

1. Kellogg
2. Fort Hall
3. Glenns Ferry
4. Gooding
5. St. Anthony
6. Kamiah
7. Wendell
8. Hazelton
9. Cottonwood
10. Cascade

So what is the worst small town to call home in Idaho for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Kellogg is the worst small town to live in Idaho.

While many of these small towns have seen better days, they have wonderful communities and people. This report in no way means to knock the folks that call towns like Kellogg home. Everyone

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Idaho or the worst places to live in Idaho.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Idaho For 2024

1. Kellogg

Source: Wikipedia User Wikipedia Loves Art participant “Assignment_Houston_One” | CC BY-SA 2.5

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 2,294
Median Home Value: $266,705
Median Income: $38,316
Unemployment Rate: 14.5%

2. Fort Hall

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,608
Median Home Value: $409,866
Median Income: $37,786
Unemployment Rate: 12.3%

3. Glenns Ferry

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,327
Median Home Value: $253,277
Median Income: $36,413
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%

4. Gooding

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 3,673
Median Home Value: $296,813
Median Income: $42,470
Unemployment Rate: 10.3%

5. St. Anthony

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 3,730
Median Home Value: $260,087
Median Income: $44,313
Unemployment Rate: 8.1%

6. Kamiah

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,210
Median Home Value: $307,584
Median Income: $34,803
Unemployment Rate: 6.1%

7. Wendell

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,900
Median Home Value: $305,171
Median Income: $46,875
Unemployment Rate: 2.1%

8. Hazelton

Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 1,094
Median Home Value: $352,421
Median Income: $44,468
Unemployment Rate: 7.2%

9. Cottonwood

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,243
Median Home Value: $311,291
Median Income: $55,147
Unemployment Rate: 10.9%

10. Cascade

Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 1,197
Median Home Value: $428,500
Median Income: $48,700
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%

Next 10 Towns

Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Idaho is lousy or not?

To rank the worst small towns to live in Idaho, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.

We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.

Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2018-2022 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

• Population Density (The lower, the worse)
• Highest Unemployment Rates
• Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
• Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
• Education (Number of high school dropouts)
• High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 66 to be exact.

We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the worst small places to live in Idaho.

There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Idaho

If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Gem State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

The worst small towns in Idaho are Kellogg, Fort Hall, Glenns Ferry, Gooding, St. Anthony, Kamiah, Wendell, Hazelton, Cottonwood, and Cascade.

If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Idaho, according to science:

1. Ketchum (Pop. 3,490)
2. Iona (Pop. 2,746)
3. Robie Creek (Pop. 1,237)

For more Idaho reading, check out:

Worst Small Towns In Idaho

Rank	Town	Population	Unemployment Rate	Home Value	Median Income
1	Kellogg	2,294	14.5%	$266,705	$38,316
2	Fort Hall	2,608	12.3%	$409,866	$37,786
3	Glenns Ferry	1,327	2.4%	$253,277	$36,413
4	Gooding	3,673	10.3%	$296,813	$42,470
5	St. Anthony	3,730	8.1%	$260,087	$44,313
6	Kamiah	1,210	6.1%	$307,584	$34,803
7	Wendell	2,900	2.1%	$305,171	$46,875
8	Hazelton	1,094	7.2%	$352,421	$44,468
9	Cottonwood	1,243	10.9%	$311,291	$55,147
10	Cascade	1,197	4.7%	$428,500	$48,700
11	Homedale	2,926	4.0%	$331,742	$50,125
12	Shoshone	1,687	8.6%	$288,703	$44,375
13	Plummer	1,158	4.3%	$330,231	$50,227
14	Aberdeen	2,611	9.2%	$243,421	$62,944
15	Wallace	1,083	3.5%	$252,917	$49,052
16	Ponderay	1,208	6.0%	$474,083	$42,670
17	Heyburn	3,640	4.1%	$303,355	$61,443
18	Soda Springs	3,124	2.5%	$286,713	$44,301
19	Marsing	1,244	2.1%	$381,538	$55,192
20	American Falls	4,573	7.8%	$285,048	$55,465
21	Parma	1,937	7.2%	$445,458	$48,702
22	Lapwai	1,310	9.6%	$373,088	$58,558
23	Moyie Springs	1,293	6.3%	$465,206	$59,096
24	Osburn	1,625	3.7%	$281,903	$41,833
25	Montpelier	2,649	7.3%	$274,185	$50,668
26	Hansen	1,462	0.5%	$311,999	$41,625
27	Ashton	1,367	8.8%	$248,854	$62,819
28	Salmon	3,147	6.2%	$330,301	$45,130
29	Bonners Ferry	2,558	0.9%	$441,322	$46,667
30	Pinehurst	1,993	4.0%	$294,089	$52,109
31	St. Maries	2,410	5.3%	$334,118	$47,564
32	Filer	2,766	3.3%	$375,547	$48,559
33	Wilder	1,672	0.7%	$472,946	$54,375
34	Grangeville	3,369	3.5%	$303,965	$47,572
35	Mountain Home Afb	3,184	9.5%	$0	$60,764
36	Buhl	4,577	4.0%	$337,649	$51,307
37	Carey	1,244	4.6%	$465,281	$50,000
38	Paul	1,334	1.6%	$317,178	$59,853
39	Driggs	2,548	0.7%	$735,174	$86,587
40	Lincoln	3,638	5.7%	$297,835	$77,623
41	Mccall	3,731	1.6%	$748,440	$57,788
42	Priest River	2,170	1.0%	$517,909	$49,868
43	Kootenai	1,152	4.7%	$440,760	$68,750
44	Victor	2,876	0.0%	$804,967	$70,923
45	Shelley	4,878	9.4%	$305,862	$64,783
46	Orofino	3,251	3.7%	$310,979	$51,518
47	Grace	1,413	2.6%	$289,418	$69,858
48	Riverside	1,074	0.0%	$267,838	$94,583
49	Groveland	1,190	4.0%	$333,298	$54,115
50	Tyhee	1,469	9.6%	$521,945	$90,677
51	Moreland	1,343	0.0%	$320,499	$56,391
52	Kimberly	4,696	0.6%	$415,885	$72,063
53	Mccammon	1,017	5.1%	$398,490	$74,583
54	Sugar City	2,055	4.4%	$370,313	$56,439
55	Hagerman	1,198	2.0%	$390,490	$66,250
56	Bellevue	2,554	2.5%	$622,490	$70,089
57	New Plymouth	1,645	8.0%	$442,327	$57,250
58	Spirit Lake	2,375	3.8%	$529,395	$61,625
59	Malad City	2,219	0.4%	$308,760	$68,594
60	Ucon	1,631	5.1%	$364,761	$81,771
61	Sun Valley	1,383	0.0%	$1,272,849	$67,386
62	Genesee	1,209	2.5%	$417,253	$77,266
63	Dalton Gardens	2,510	2.4%	$620,992	$87,902
64	Ketchum	3,490	0.9%	$1,324,859	$87,478
65	Iona	2,746	1.9%	$412,829	$87,619
66	Robie Creek	1,237	0.0%	$655,931	$117,422