If you lived in a rural part of the state in 1990, there’s a good chance that you now live in a town or city. That’s according to census data parsed by the Idaho Department of Labor. Researcher JanellHyer says people are continuing to move where the jobs are – and that means more populated cities like Boise and Meridian.
“People are coming from the rural areas moving into the urban areas," says Hyer. "Even though they may not be growing as fast as they were in previous years, they are still growing and that’s where the growth is taking place.”
The researcher says that although some people love living in rural Idaho, it can be tough to make a living there. She expects to see the trend from rural-to-urban continue.
The town with the smallest – and most consistent population – is the town of Warm River. Just three people have lived in the eastern Idaho town since 2010.
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