City · Elmore County, Idaho

Mountain Home, Idaho

Mountain Home is a city in Elmore County, Idaho, part of the Mountain Home, ID metro area. It has 16,493 residents. Mountain Home, Idaho has a quality-of-life score of 44 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,833 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Idaho it ranks #68 of 101 cities and towns. It ranks best on hospital quality rating (high), loneliness (low) and preventable hospital stays (low). It ranks worst on flu vaccinations (low), distance to an emergency room (high) and social associations (low).

44Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,833 of 15,651 cities and towns
Idaho: #68 of 101 in ID
Population: 16,493 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 2,277.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 1654730

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety63#5,769/15,637
Economy40#9,305/15,631
Housing77#3,423/14,977
Health46#8,383/15,609
Healthcare29#11,049/15,650
Environment38#9,560/15,453
Education24#11,834/15,649
Infrastructure54#7,136/15,650
Community48#8,216/15,651
Leisure & amenities44#8,711/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Mountain Home, Idaho ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Elmore 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

Hospital quality rating · high5.0
98/100Idaho 3.5United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesElmore County value
Loneliness · low33.0%
96/100Idaho 29.7%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Preventable hospital stays · low1,544 /100k
96/100Idaho 1,575 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteElmore County value
Child care cost burden · low19.8%
95/100Idaho 20.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteElmore County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Idaho 1.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataElmore County value
Property crime rate · low412 /100k
93/100Idaho 605 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationElmore County value

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low21.0%
1/100Idaho 36.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteElmore County value
Distance to an emergency room · high22.1 mi
2/100Idaho 8.4 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesElmore County value
Social associations · low3.7 /10k
3/100Idaho 7.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteElmore County value
Pharmacies · low0.3 /10k
3/100Idaho 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsElmore County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high158 mi
4/100Idaho 155 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauElmore County value
Voter turnout · low51.7%
6/100Idaho 65.0%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionElmore County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
14,166 (2015-2019) → 16,493 (2020-2024)
+16%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
4.9 /1k (2021) → 9.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+96%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.9× (2015-2019) → 4.9× (2020-2024)
+68%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
52.0% (2015-2019) → 42.1% (2020-2024)
−9.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
17.1% (2015-2019) → 7.3% (2020-2024)
−9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.9% (2015-2019) → 93.0% (2020-2024)
+7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Mountain Home, Idaho improved on 5 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved5

Uninsured−9.8 points17.1% → 7.3%
Child poverty−7 points17.6% → 10.7%
Bachelor's++5.8 points16.2% → 22.0%
Household income+28%$49,404 → $63,125
Broadband+7.1 points85.9% → 93.0%

Declined2

Price / income+2.0×2.9× → 4.9×
Commute+4.1 min18.9 min → 23.0 min

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Mountain Home, Idaho between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.9 min2015-2019	23.0 min2020-2024	+4.1 min	Declined	13%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.2%2015-2019	22.0%2020-2024	+5.8 points	Improved	73%
Broadband subscriptions	85.9%2015-2019	93.0%2020-2024	+7.1 points	Improved	44%
Child poverty rate	17.6%2015-2019	10.7%2020-2024	−7 points	Improved	75%
Effective property tax rate	0.91%2015-2019	0.73%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	53%
High school diploma or higher	90.4%2015-2019	90.5%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	4.9×2020-2024	+2.0×	Declined	4%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3712015-2019	0.3972020-2024	+0.026	Within the margin of error	29%
Median household income	$49,4042015-2019	$63,1252020-2024	+28%	Improved	50%
Poverty rate	16.4%2015-2019	11.4%2020-2024	−5 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Rent as share of income	30.6%2015-2019	26.7%2020-2024	−3.9 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Rent-burdened households	52.0%2015-2019	42.1%2020-2024	−9.9 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Unemployment rate	6.6%2015-2019	6.1%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	17.1%2015-2019	7.3%2020-2024	−9.8 points	Improved	96%

“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 Mountain Home, Idaho five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Mountain Home, 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, Mountain Home, Idaho itself moved +0.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

16,493 residents (±52)

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

6,349 households (±261)

Mountain Home, Idaho
Idaho share

Under $25k13%800
$25k–50k26%1,638
$50k–75k20%1,290

Homes

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

Owners and renters

6,349 households (±261)

Mountain Home, Idaho
Idaho share

Own67%4,261
Rent33%2,088

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+8.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

7,618 workers (±415)

Mountain Home, Idaho
Idaho share

Drive alone88%6,670
Carpool5.2%†395
Public transit0.0%0

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 Mountain Home, 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 Elmore County, the county holding most of Mountain Home's residents.

Elmore County has 477 employer establishments, 161 for every 10,000 residents (0.65× the US rate of 248; 0.55× Idaho's), with 4,848 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,128. The Census Bureau also counts 1,664 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 477; 1,664 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 161; US 248 · Idaho 295
Paid employees: 4,848
Average annual pay: $42,128; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	46	15.5	0.85×About typical	780	$17,365	15
Specialty trade contractors	39	13.2	0.85×About typical	203	$43,537	124
Ambulatory health care services	33	11.1	0.53×Fewer than typical	379	$54,850	52
Limited-service restaurants	22	7.4	0.93×About typical	455	$16,356	4
Services to buildings and dwellings	19	6.4	0.95×About typical	46	$30,543	90
Truck transportation	19	6.4	1.27×More than typical	95	$46,305	59
Full-service restaurants	18	6.1	0.79×Fewer than typical	263	$17,722	4
Lessors of real estate	17	5.7	0.47×Fewer than typical	50	$46,960	153
Construction of buildings	15	5.1	0.67×Fewer than typical	104	$41,221	48
Building finishing contractors	13	4.4	1.15×About typical	34	$43,618	27
Child day care services	13	4.4	1.80×More than typical	83	$24,373	23
Automotive repair and maintenance	11	3.7	0.74×Fewer than typical	47	$45,404	41

Rank places for an industry Open Elmore County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 29,615 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: Mountain Home is mostly in Elmore County.

See federal money in Elmore 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.

Mountain Home, 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.

Elmore County51100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Mountain Home, ID60

Other cities and towns in Elmore 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/1654730

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends