Idaho
State Population (2004 CB estimate):1,393,262
Population Increase 1990-2000: 287,204
Foreign-Born Population: 80,600
Percent Foreign-Born: 5.9%
Illegal Resident Population: 19,0001
2025 Population Projection: 1,739,000
All numbers are from the U.S. Census Bureau unless otherwise noted. Additional Census Bureau, INS, and other immigration-related data are available for Idaho.
Current 2010 2020
$84 $148 $264
Idaho’s population increased by 29 percent, or 287,000 people, between 1990 and 2000, bringing its population to 1.3 million people. Idaho is the fifth fastest growing state in the country.
Between 1990 and 2000, the city of Boise was the seventh fastest growing city in the nation, increasing by 46 percent. Boise County increased by 90 percent.
The increase in the foreign-born population during the 1990s accounted for 12 percent of the state’s total population increase during the decade.
About 166,000 people in Idaho are immigrants or the children of immigrants, 13 percent of the state’s population.
Demonstrating the impact of recent policies of mass immigration, 47 percent of Idaho’s immigrant population has arrived in the state since 1990.
NOTE: Naturalization: Fewer immigrants in Idaho are naturalized U.S. citizens.
In 2000, only 33 percent of Idaho’s foreign-born residents were naturalized
U.S. citizens, versus 41 percent in 1990.
Traffic: As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for Idaho residents increased 16 percent during the 1990s, from 17 minutes in 1990 to 20 minutes in 2000.3,4
Affordable housing: As population increases, the affordable housing supply often drops. Idaho workers who earn minimum wage must work 77 hours per week in order to afford a two-bedroom unit at the area’s fair market rent. Idaho’s housing wage (the amount a full-time worker must earn per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent) is $9.87, but its minimum wage is $5.15.11
Finding affordable housing is even more difficult for the working poor since little low-income housing is being built, despite rising demand. What little housing is built is filled almost immediately after opening. Forty-one percent of Idaho renters pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing (30 percent is the maximum recommended by housing experts).12
Air pollution: As population increases, pollution usually rises along with it. Many in Idaho are worried about the negative effects population growth will have on public health, since more people mean more cars, which increasing gas consumption and air pollution.15 Canyon County saw the worst levels of small particulate pollution in a decade during 2002, with up to a third of its pollution attributable to vehicle emissions.16
Poverty: Twenty-two percent of immigrants in Idaho have incomes below the poverty level. Among non-citizens, the rate climbs to 27 percent.17 Education: Between 1990 and 2000, Idaho’s elementary and high school enrollment increased 20 percent. Between 2002 and 2012, public school enrollment is expected to increase another 13 percent, to 287,000.18
Illegal Residents
19,000 illegal aliens resided in Idaho as of 2000, according to INS figures. This is 19 percent higher than the previous INS estimate in 1996 and 72 percent higher than the estimate for 1990. 23
Idaho authorities requested compensation of $3.3 million from the federal government in FY’99 for the incarceration of illegal aliens in state and local jails and prisons (under the federal State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or SCAAP), but it received only $1.3 million in compensation, leaving $2 million in uncompensated costs to be borne by Idaho taxpayers.
“Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: 1990-2000,” Office of Policy Planning, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, January 2003.- Craig Quintana, “Growth in Idaho Takes Big Swig of Water,” Idaho Statesman, January 15, 2002.
- “Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000,” Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau.
- “Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 1990,” 1990 Census, U.S. Census Bureau.
- “State Rankings by Acreage and Rate of Non-Federal Land Developed,” Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
- Editorial Board, “Planning for Growth Must be a Top Priority,” Idaho Press-Tribune, June 30, 2001.
- “Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000,” Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau.
“Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 1990,” 1990 Census, U.S. Census Bureau.
Haya El Nasser, “U.S. Neighborhoods Grow More Crowded,” USA Today,July 7, 2002.- Randy Capps, “Hardship Among Children of Immigrants: Findings from the 1999 National Survey of America’s Families,” Urban Institute, 2001.
“Rental Housing for America’s Poor Families: Farther Out of Reach than Ever,” National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2002.
Matthew Evans, “The Search for Affordable Housing,” Idaho Falls Post Register, March 21, 2002.
Brian Davidson, “Rexburg Construction Sets New High- Number of Building Permits Up Tenfold,” Idaho Falls Post Register, January 9, 2003.
John O’Connell, “City Sewer in Midst of Three-Part Overhaul,” Idaho State Journal, January 18, 2002.
Sam Bass, Growth Threatens Air Quality,” Idaho Press-Tribune, June 12, 2002.
Nathaniel Hoffman, “Here is a Sign of a Problem, Growth,” Idaho Press-Tribune, December 5, 2002.
“Idaho State Factsheet,” Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute.
“Table 4—Enrollment in Grades K-12 in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, by Region and State, With Projections: Fall 1993 to Fall 2012,” National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core Data, U.S. Department of Education.
Matthew Evans, “Taylorview Expanding to Accommodate Population,” Idaho Falls Post Register, July 30, 2002.
Matthew Evans, “District 91 Struggles to Find the Money to Pay the Bills,” Lewistown Morning Tribune, February 19,2003.
Kathy Hedberg, “Idaho’s School Saga Resumes,” Lewiston Morning Tribune, November 10, 2002.
Kathryn Tacke, “Kootenai County Profile,” Idaho Department of Labor, January 2003.
“Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: 1990-2000,” Office of Policy Planning, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, January 2003.- “How Idaho Measures Up,” Measuring What Matters, The New Indicators Project, Northwest Environment Watch.