Idaho’s Growth Obscures Massive Demographic Turnover, Study Says

“More than a quarter of Idaho’s growing 1.8 million population is new to the state, according to a University of Idaho analysis that uses novel data,” according to an article by KMTV News. The research, by Jaap Vos, professor of Planning and Natural Resources at the University of Idaho, relied on vehicle registration and license surrender data from the Idaho Transportation Department from 2011-2021.

While data from the 2020 U.S. Census largely mirrors Vos’s conclusions, the use of data from the DMV better captures the demographic changes of the community, and in nearly real time, according to Vos. “Using change as a measure,” Vos is quoted in the article, “Idaho’s population is changing faster than Florida’s did in the mid 1990s, even though Florida was the fastest growing state in the nation at that time.”

While the state is growing quickly, it’s losing residents almost as quickly as it’s gaining. “In 2022, Vos found an average of 180 people move into Idaho daily while 137 state residents move out of state.”

“Vos will present his findings as opening speaker at the Idaho Smart Growth Summit on Sept. 1 in Boise,” according to the article.