Census-designated place · Bonneville County, Idaho

Lincoln, Idaho

Lincoln is a census-designated place in Bonneville County, Idaho, part of the Idaho Falls, ID metro area. It has 4,002 residents. Lincoln, Idaho has a quality-of-life score of 78 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,466 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Idaho it ranks #22 of 101 cities and towns. It ranks best on loneliness (low), preventable hospital stays (low) and median Air Quality Index (low). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and social associations (low).

78High

Quality-of-life score: #3,466 of 15,651 cities and towns
Idaho: #22 of 101 in ID
Population: 4,002 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 2,784.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 1647080

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety53#7,420/15,637
Economy63#5,708/15,631
Housing85#2,281/14,977
Health69#4,913/15,609
Healthcare51#7,674/15,650
Environment97#474/15,453
Education53#7,282/15,649
Infrastructure90#1,581/15,650
Community50#7,854/15,651
Leisure & amenities45#8,630/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lincoln, Idaho ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Bonneville County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Loneliness · low29.8%
99/100Idaho 29.7%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Preventable hospital stays · low1,383 /100k
98/100Idaho 1,575 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBonneville County value
Median Air Quality Index · low22
97/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyBonneville County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.324
97/100Idaho 0.444United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Rent-burdened households · low13.4%
94/100Idaho 46.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
Hot days · low3 days
92/100Idaho 13 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBonneville County value

Weaknesses

Drought exposure · high99%
2/100Idaho 73%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAABonneville County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high189 mi
3/100Idaho 155 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBonneville County value
Social associations · low4.6 /10k
5/100Idaho 7.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBonneville County value
Grocery stores · low0.8 /10k
8/100Idaho 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBonneville County value
Students per teacher · high19.4×
9/100Idaho 17.8×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsBonneville County value
Average weekly wage · low$982
15/100Idaho $1,200United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBonneville County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
71.9% (2015-2019) → 13.4% (2020-2024)
−58 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
7.7% (2015-2019) → 36.3% (2020-2024)
+29 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.5× (2015-2019) → 4.5× (2020-2024)
+83%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Poverty rateWorsening
7.2% (2015-2019) → 18.4% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
95.2% (2015-2019) → 86.4% (2020-2024)
−8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
34.4% (2015-2019) → 25.8% (2020-2024)
−8.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Lincoln, Idaho improved on 1 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 5 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+30%$64,792 → $84,280

Declined2

Child poverty+29 points7.7% → 36.3%
Price / income+2.0×2.5× → 4.5×

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Lincoln, Idaho between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.7 min2015-2019	19.0 min2020-2024	−1.7 min	Within the margin of error	67%
Bachelor's degree or higher	39.0%2015-2019	34.2%2020-2024	−4.8 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Broadband subscriptions	92.2%2015-2019	97.4%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Child poverty rate	7.7%2015-2019	36.3%2020-2024	+29 points	Declined	2%
Effective property tax rate	0.84%2015-2019	0.48%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Little change	81%
High school diploma or higher	95.2%2015-2019	86.4%2020-2024	−8.9 points	Within the margin of error	2%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	4.5×2020-2024	+2.0×	Declined	4%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3442015-2019	0.3242020-2024	−0.020	Within the margin of error	68%
Median household income	$64,7922015-2019	$84,2802020-2024	+30%	Improved	56%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Lincoln, Idaho five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lincoln, Idaho in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Lincoln, Idaho itself moved −8.8 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

4,002 residents (±715)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,253 households (±183)

Lincoln, Idaho
Idaho share

Under $25k4.2%†53
$25k–50k13%†159
$50k–75k10%

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,253 households (±183)

Lincoln, Idaho
Idaho share

Own82%1,025
Rent18%†228

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,701 workers (±350)

Lincoln, Idaho
Idaho share

Drive alone75%1,282
Carpool6.6%†113
Public transit0.5%†9

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Idaho Falls, ID

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Bonneville County, the county holding most of Lincoln's residents.

Bonneville County has 4,197 employer establishments, 319 for every 10,000 residents (1.29× the US rate of 248; 1.08× Idaho's), with 63,119 paid employees at an average annual pay of $60,106. The Census Bureau also counts 11,589 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,197; 11,589 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 319; US 248 · Idaho 295
Paid employees: 63,119
Average annual pay: $60,106; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Bonneville County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	583	44.3	2.13×More than typical	5,104	$59,054	590
Specialty trade contractors	421	32	2.07×More than typical	2,390	$54,628	845
Restaurants and other eating places	230	17.5	0.95×About typical	5,277	$19,411	34
Offices of physicians	214	16.3	2.51×More than typical	1,934	$79,074	126
Offices of other health practitioners	198	15.1	2.48×More than typical	877	$41,145	302
Lessors of real estate	187	14.2	1.15×About typical	1,120	$63,788	1,455
Building finishing contractors	148	11.3	2.96×More than typical	677	$42,121	290
Construction of buildings	141	10.7	1.42×More than typical	674	$61,550	343
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	126	9.6	3.04×More than typical	531	$52,032	146
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	110	8.4	2.05×More than typical	796	$44,985	181
Services to buildings and dwellings	107	8.1	1.21×About typical	667	$35,195	531
Real estate agents and brokers	105	8	1.64×More than typical	190	$39,800	284

Rank places for an industry Open Bonneville County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 131,513 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Lincoln is mostly in Bonneville County.

See federal money in Bonneville County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Lincoln, Idaho is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Michael K. SimpsonR-ID-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 95%Missed 2.1%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Bonneville County87100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Idaho Falls, ID86

Other cities and towns in Bonneville County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1647080

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends