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Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Coeur d'Alene is a small city of about 58,000 people in Kootenai County, Idaho. It's the county seat. It has grown about 6% since 2020. A typical home costs about 6.7 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, Seattle, is about 259 miles away as the crow flies.

County seatSmall city

Population
58,179
up 5.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$483,500
Kootenai County prices up 6% since 2022
Household income
$72,338
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Coeur d'Alene area
98.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Kootenai Health
To Seattle
259 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.7% below the U.S. average in the Coeur d'Alene metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood135 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 6.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town16 public schools: 9 elementary, 3 middle, 3 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byKootenai Health is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 259 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 Coeur d'Alene 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
$483,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 6%Kootenai County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,468 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$72,338U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
59%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,102 a yearIdaho: $2,038
Homes built before 1940
9%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
22%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
4%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
98.3U.S. average = 100 (the Coeur d'Alene metro area)

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 6% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Coeur d'Alene metro area, not Coeur d'Alene 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
58,1792020: 54,951
Median age
40.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
31%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%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 (21%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%); professional and business services (11%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
9%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Kootenai Health, Coeur D'alene, ID, in town. It's a general hospital. 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

16 public schools in Coeur d'Alene, run by Coeur D'alene District and Coeur D'alene Charter Academy INC..

Colleges in or next to town: North Idaho College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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
80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
92%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
26°F
July average high
83°F
Days 90°F or hotter
18 a year
Nights at or below freezing
120 a year
Rain and melted snow
24.6 inches a year
Snow
27 inches a year
Elevation
2,241 feet

Weather stations: Coeur D'alene (1 mile away) and Bayview Model Basin (22 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Spokane Valley, Seattle.

Kootenai County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

16 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Coeur d'Alene Garden District Historic District, Fort Sherman Buildings and Sherman Park Addition.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area53 miles

Read about Coeur d'Alene's history on Wikipedia.

Know Coeur d'Alene?

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

  • Huetter, ID105 people, 3 miles
  • Fernan Lake Village, ID163 people, 3 miles
  • Hayden Lake, ID668 people, 5 miles
  • Hauser, ID915 people, 11 miles
  • Rockford Bay, ID (unincorporated)336 people, 14 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.