Each year since 2016, Idaho has ranked first or second in the country for fastest population growth. From 2019 to 2020, the Idaho Business Review reported that the state had the largest single-year population increase in the U.S., growing 2.1%, to 1.8 million residents.
Many of the new arrivals have found homes in the state’s northern panhandle, known for its forests and small towns like Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene, located on the shores of the large mountain lakes.