City · Clearwater County, Idaho

Orofino, Idaho

Orofino is a city in Clearwater County, Idaho. It has 3,260 residents. Orofino, Idaho has a quality-of-life score of 32 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,613 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Idaho it ranks #83 of 101 cities and towns. It ranks best on grocery stores (high), loneliness (low) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), public EV charging ports (low) and injury deaths (high).

32Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,613 of 15,651 cities and towns
Idaho: #83 of 101 in ID
Population: 3,260 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,320.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 1659320

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.

Safety51#7,696/15,637
Economy22#12,209/15,631
Housing53#6,997/14,977
Health41#9,206/15,609
Healthcare31#10,767/15,650
Environment19#12,512/15,453
Education53#7,426/15,649
Infrastructure20#12,556/15,650
Community38#9,730/15,651
Leisure & amenities85#2,339/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Grocery stores · high5.5 /10k
99/100Idaho 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsClearwater County value
Loneliness · low29.4%
99/100Idaho 29.7%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Public libraries · high4.4 /10k
98/100Idaho 0.9 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesClearwater County value
Restaurants and bars · high19.7 /10k
98/100Idaho 9.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsClearwater County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Idaho 1.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataClearwater County value
Primary care physicians · high122 /100k
93/100Idaho 62 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClearwater County value

Weaknesses

Natural hazard risk · high97.8
2/100Idaho 30.62025Federal Emergency Management AgencyClearwater County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Idaho 3.7 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyClearwater County value
Injury deaths · high145 /100k
4/100Idaho 84 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClearwater County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Idaho 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsClearwater County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low37.3%
4/100Idaho 76.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClearwater County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Idaho 3.5United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesClearwater County value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.5% (2015-2019) → 84.7% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.0× (2015-2019) → 4.2× (2020-2024)
+41%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$44,659 (2015-2019) → $53,438 (2020-2024)
+20%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Average commute timeImproving
21.5 min (2015-2019) → 17.5 min (2020-2024)
−19%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Child poverty rateWorsening
16.4% (2015-2019) → 19.1% (2020-2024)
+2.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
50.9% (2015-2019) → 53.4% (2020-2024)
+2.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Orofino, Idaho improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 12 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.

Improved1

Broadband+13 points71.5% → 84.7%

Declined1

Price / income+1.2×3.0× → 4.2×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Orofino, Idaho between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.5 min2015-2019	17.5 min2020-2024	−4.0 min	Within the margin of error	85%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.0%2015-2019	16.3%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Broadband subscriptions	71.5%2015-2019	84.7%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	73%
Child poverty rate	16.4%2015-2019	19.1%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Effective property tax rate	0.95%2015-2019	0.88%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	27%
High school diploma or higher	90.9%2015-2019	92.4%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Home price to income ratio	3.0×2015-2019	4.2×2020-2024	+1.2×	Declined	15%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4202015-2019	0.4222020-2024	+0.002	Within the margin of error	49%
Median household income	$44,6592015-2019	$53,4382020-2024	+20%	Within the margin of error	32%
Poverty rate	11.5%2015-2019	13.6%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Rent as share of income	30.5%2015-2019	32.4%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Rent-burdened households	50.9%2015-2019	53.4%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Unemployment rate	5.9%2015-2019	6.5%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.6%2015-2019	14.2%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	51%

“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 Orofino, Idaho five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Orofino, 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, Orofino, Idaho itself moved −1.8 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

3,260 residents (±22)

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

1,075 households (±98)

Orofino, Idaho
Idaho share

Under $25k18%195
$25k–50k30%†324
$50k–75k11%†122

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,075 households (±98)

Orofino, Idaho
Idaho share

Own76%816
Rent24%259

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+15.6 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,215 workers (±123)

Orofino, Idaho
Idaho share

Drive alone80%966
Carpool6.3%†76
Public transit0.0%0

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 Clearwater County, the county holding most of Orofino's residents.

Clearwater County has 246 employer establishments, 268 for every 10,000 residents (1.08× the US rate of 248; 0.91× Idaho's), with 1,939 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,106. The Census Bureau also counts 563 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 246; 563 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 268; US 248 · Idaho 295
Paid employees: 1,939
Average annual pay: $49,106; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	18	19.6	1.07×About typical	136	$17,926	5
Specialty trade contractors	18	19.6	1.27×More than typical	54	$44,444	45
Ambulatory health care services	10	10.9	0.52×Fewer than typical	79	$55,987	14
Construction of buildings	10	10.9	1.44×More than typical	24	$39,750	22
Full-service restaurants	10	10.9	1.42×More than typical	88	$18,864	—
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	7	7.6	2.87×Too few to compare	18	$14,000	3
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	7	7.6	2.42×Too few to compare	15	$39,867	5
Lessors of real estate	7	7.6	0.62×Too few to compare	17	$26,647	40
Other amusement and recreation industries	7	7.6	3.14×Too few to compare	18	$14,000	3
Traveler accommodation	7	7.6	4.22×Too few to compare	49	$20,041	5
Banks and credit unions	6	6.5	2.02×Too few to compare	26	$48,231	—
Building equipment contractors	6	6.5	1.09×Too few to compare	25	$45,200	7

Rank places for an industry Open Clearwater County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 9,189 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

In FY2026, an estimated $8,806 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Orofino, Idaho: $2.70 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $8,806; −91% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.70; US $1,994
Sole-source: 43%; US 30%
Single offer: 21%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$5,02757%
Department of the Army$1,72020%
Forest Service$1,38816%
Defense Logistics Agency$3854.4%
Bureau of Land Management$2753.1%
Defense Contract Management Agency$10.480.1%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

24.3KFY2017
13.4KFY2018
81.6KFY2019
244.7KFY2020
155.1KFY2021
86.8KFY2022
61.8KFY2023
79.9KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Animal food manufacturing · 3111$3,42439%
Support activities for forestry · 1153$1,61918%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$1,10012%
Electrical equipment manufacturing · 3353$89510%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$4825.5%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$373

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Orofino, Idaho, so they do not add up across cities.

Orofino, Idaho's figures are part of those of Clearwater County, ID ($3.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.3% of that total.

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

See federal money in Clearwater 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.

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

House

Russ FulcherR-ID-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.6%

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.

Clearwater County43100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Clearwater 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/1659320

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends