Only ONE Idaho City Made the Best Places to Live List and It Wasn’t Boise

Sometimes it takes going on a vacation and then coming home to realize how lucky we are to call Idaho home. Not only is the state full of natural beauty from mountains to lakes and everything in between the weather’s usually pretty pleasant. You feel safe doing things on your own and there’s always something going on. 

That’s why I was surprised when only ONE Idaho city made this year’s list of the Top 100 best places to live in America! 

One Idaho Community Named Among Best Places to Live in the Nation

U.S. News and World Report recently released its annual list of the top 250 Best Places to Live in the United States. In order to rank high on the list, a city needs to be of good value, be a desirable place to live, have a strong job market and a high quality of life. When you take a quick glance at that methodology, you’d expect to find find a few Idaho cities high on the list. 

READ MORE: One of USA's Fastest Growing Boomtowns is in Idaho

Really, the only one of those factors that Idaho isn’t good at is being of “good value.” Our housing market has been rather outrageous for the past seven-ish years. 

Well, you assumed wrong. While Boise climbed as high as the #2 best place to live in the nation last year, Idaho’s capital city was nowhere to be found inside the Top 100 this year. Neither was Meridian, Nampa or Caldwell. 

In fact, only one Idaho city ranked inside the Top 100 and that was Idaho Falls at #43. 

What Makes Idaho Falls Shine?

With an overall score of 6.5/10, US News and World Report’s research showed that the housing costs in Idaho Falls were lower than the national average, offering better value than similarly sized cities when you compare housing costs to median household income. 

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Idaho Falls was also recognized for having an average commute time of just 14.9 minutes, which is about seven minutes less than the national average. 

While Idaho Falls’ median household income is just shy of $11,000 below that national average, U.S. News and World Report still considers Idaho Falls to have a healthier job market than similarly sized metros thanks to an unemployment rate that’s below the national average. 

Did Any Other Idaho Cities Even Make the List?

The rankings examined 859 cities for 250 overall spots on this year’s list. According to the press release for this year’s rankings, the publication put more weight on a city’s value and job market than it has in the past due to heightened economic uncertainty. 

Keep scrolling and you’ll eventually find more Idaho cities in the Top 250. Meridian eventually shows up at #132 with an overall score of 6.1. Lewiston checks in at #201 with an overall score of 5.9. You’ll find Pocatello at #213. It also has an overall score of 5.9. Twin Falls appears at #217 with a score of 5.8. 

So what happened to last year’s #2 best place to live in America? Boise didn’t even make the Top 250 this year.