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Blackfoot, Idaho

Blackfoot is a small town of about 13,400 people in Bingham County, Idaho. It's the county seat. It has grown about 8% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.1 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Salt Lake City, is about 168 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
13,361
up 7.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$262,500
Bingham County prices up 10% since 2022
Household income
$64,032
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Idaho
91.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Bingham Memorial Hospital
To Salt Lake City
168 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.1% below the U.S. average in the parts of Idaho outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood40 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 7.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town15 public schools: 8 elementary, 3 middle, 3 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byBingham Memorial Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySalt Lake City is about 168 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Blackfoot meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$262,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 10%Bingham County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$839 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$64,032U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,701 a yearIdaho: $2,038
Homes built before 1940
19%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
91.9U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Idaho outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 10% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Idaho outside metro areas, not Blackfoot alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
13,3612020: 12,404
Median age
34.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
25%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (22%); retail (16%); manufacturing (10%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
11%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Bingham Memorial Hospital, Blackfoot, ID, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Portneuf Medical Center, Pocatello, ID, about 23 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

15 public schools in Blackfoot, run by Blackfoot District and Snake River District.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Idaho's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
61%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
17°F
July average high
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
26 a year
Nights at or below freezing
162 a year
Rain and melted snow
12.1 inches a year
Snow
15 inches a year
Elevation
4,499 feet

Weather station: Blackfoot Fire Dept (less than a mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Pocatello, Salt Lake City.

Bingham County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

12 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Eastern Idaho District Fair Historic District, the North Shilling Historic District and the Shilling Avenue Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Craters of the Moon National Preserve45 miles
  • Craters of the Moon National Monument54 miles

Read about Blackfoot's history on Wikipedia.

Know Blackfoot?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Groveland, ID (unincorporated)1,422 people, 2 miles
  • Riverside, ID (unincorporated)867 people, 4 miles
  • Moreland, ID (unincorporated)1,326 people, 5 miles
  • Rockford, ID (unincorporated)492 people, 9 miles
  • Firth, ID545 people, 11 miles
  • Basalt, ID376 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.