Rural areas home to some of Idaho's fastest growing cities

Idahoans are accustomed to hearing how quickly the state is growing. 

The Gem State is one of the least-populous states in the country, but it’s also one of the fastest-growing. U.S. Census Bureau numbers show that Idaho was the 4th-fastest growing state in 2023. As of July 2023, the Census Bureau recorded 1,964,726 people living in the state. 

Recently, the Census Bureau released population estimates for Idaho from April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2023. The data shows that many people are flocking to Idaho cities across the state. Here’s where:

The small Idaho panhandle town of Ponderay saw a 51% increase in population over the past three years, according to Census data.

Ponderay’s population was 1,296 in 2020, but by 2023, it had climbed to 1,956. That’s 660 new residents, or a 51% increase for the town. It’s located in Bonner County. Ponderay is situated on Lake Pend Oreille and is just a couple of miles northwest from Sandpoint, known for the Schweitzer ski resort. The city describes itself on its website as the “gateway to Schweitzer Mountain.”

 Here are a few of the other places with the most population increases among Idaho cities from 2020 to 2023: 

Star

2020: 11,264

2023: 16,333

Population increase: 45% 

Dover 

2020: 754 

2023: 1,091 

Population increase: 44.7% 

Paul 

2020: 1,193 

2023: 1,725 

Population increase: 44.6% 

Swan 

2020: 227 

2023: 303 

Population increase: 33.5% 

Moyie Springs 

2020: 825 

2023: 1,080 

Population increase: 30.9% 

Rathdrum 

2020: 9,213 

2023: 11,580 

Population increase: 25.7% 

Sugar 

2020: 1,715 

2023: 2,115 

Population increase: 23.3% 

New Meadows 

2020: 516 

2023: 636 

Population increase: 23.3% 

Middleton 

2020: 9,436 

2023: 11,016 

Population increase: 23.3% 

Kuna 

2020: 24,048 

2023: 28,050 

Population increase 16.6%