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Twin Falls, Idaho

Twin Falls is a small city of about 56,000 people in Twin Falls County, Idaho. It's the county seat. It has grown about 8% since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.2 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 180 miles away as the crow flies.

County seatSmall city

Population
56,216
up 7.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$321,300
Twin Falls County prices up 4.4% since 2022
Household income
$61,205
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Twin Falls area
92.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center
To Salt Lake City
180 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.9% below the U.S. average in the Twin Falls metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood203 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 10.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town18 public schools: 11 elementary, 3 middle, 2 high schools and 2 other.
  • A hospital close bySt. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySalt Lake City is about 180 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 Twin Falls 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
$321,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 4.4%Twin Falls County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,082 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$61,205U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
64%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,182 a yearIdaho: $2,038
Homes built before 1940
11%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
13%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.1U.S. average = 100 (the Twin Falls 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 4.4% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Twin Falls metro area, not Twin Falls 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
56,2162020: 52,112
Median age
35.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%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 (20%); manufacturing (16%); retail (15%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%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: St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center, Twin Falls, 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

18 public schools in Twin Falls, run by Twin Falls District and Pinecrest Academy of Idaho INC..

Colleges in or next to town: College of Southern Idaho (10,000 to 19,999 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
71%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
90%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
22°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
46 a year
Nights at or below freezing
140 a year
Rain and melted snow
10.8 inches a year
Snow
24 inches a year
Elevation
3,731 feet

Weather stations: Twin Falls-kmvt (1 mile away) and Twin Falls 6 E (6 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: Pocatello, Salt Lake City.

Twin Falls 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

19 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Twin Falls City Park Historic District, the Twin Falls Downtown Historic District, the Twin Falls Original Townsite Residential Historic District and the Twin Falls Warehouse Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Minidoka National Historic Site13 miles
  • Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument27 miles
  • Craters of the Moon National Preserve47 miles
  • City of Rocks National Reserve48 miles

Campus life. Check College of Southern Idaho's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Twin Falls's history on Wikipedia.

Know Twin Falls?

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

  • Eden, ID406 people, 13 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.