City · Lemhi County, Idaho

Salmon, Idaho

Salmon is a city in Lemhi County, Idaho. It has 3,203 residents. Salmon, Idaho has a quality-of-life score of 44 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,703 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Idaho it ranks #67 of 101 cities and towns. It ranks best on arts, entertainment and recreation (high), hot days (low) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on pharmacies (low), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and natural hazard risk (high).

44Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,703 of 15,651 cities and towns
Idaho: #67 of 101 in ID
Population: 3,203 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 1,276.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 1671650

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.

Safety71#4,473/15,637
Economy30#10,932/15,631
Housing48#7,800/14,977
Health37#9,863/15,609
Healthcare11#13,937/15,650
Environment27#11,204/15,453
Education35#10,164/15,649
Infrastructure47#8,234/15,650
Community79#3,243/15,651
Leisure & amenities96#576/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Arts, entertainment and recreation · high37.8 /10k
100/100Idaho 7.2 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLemhi County value
Hot days · low0 days
99/100Idaho 13 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLemhi County value
Grocery stores · high4.7 /10k
99/100Idaho 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLemhi County value
Property crime rate · low231 /100k
98/100Idaho 605 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationLemhi County value
Loneliness · low31.4%
98/100Idaho 29.7%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Average commute time · low12.6 min
97/100Idaho 21.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100Idaho 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLemhi County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high218 mi
2/100Idaho 155 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauLemhi County value
Natural hazard risk · high97.2
3/100Idaho 30.62025Federal Emergency Management AgencyLemhi County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Idaho 3.7 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyLemhi County value
Suicide rate · high29.7 /100k
4/100Idaho 20.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataLemhi County value
Firearm deaths · high27.1 /100k
4/100Idaho 15.9 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataLemhi County value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.0% (2015-2019) → 87.8% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
45.7% (2015-2019) → 62.3% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
19.2% (2015-2019) → 4.6% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.2× (2015-2019) → 5.5× (2020-2024)
+72%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.1% (2015-2019) → 35.3% (2020-2024)
+7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
15.3% (2015-2019) → 9.7% (2020-2024)
−5.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Salmon, Idaho improved on 0 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Price / income+2.3×3.2× → 5.5×

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Salmon, Idaho between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.6 min2015-2019	12.5 min2020-2024	−1.1 min	Within the margin of error	61%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.0%2015-2019	19.3%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Broadband subscriptions	71.0%2015-2019	87.8%2020-2024	+17 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Effective property tax rate	0.76%2015-2019	0.46%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	74%
High school diploma or higher	89.8%2015-2019	89.2%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	5.5×2020-2024	+2.3×	Declined	3%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4422015-2019	0.5292020-2024	+0.087	Within the margin of error	6%
Median household income	$38,6342015-2019	$42,8442020-2024	+11%	Within the margin of error	18%
Poverty rate	13.8%2015-2019	15.1%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	28.1%2015-2019	35.3%2020-2024	+7.2 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Rent-burdened households	45.7%2015-2019	62.3%2020-2024	+17 points	Within the margin of error	12%

“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 Salmon, Idaho five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Salmon, 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, Salmon, Idaho itself moved −12.4 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

3,203 residents (±15)

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

1,451 households (±193)

Salmon, Idaho
Idaho share

Under $25k35%†515
$25k–50k18%†264
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,451 households (±193)

Salmon, Idaho
Idaho share

Own67%965
Rent33%†486

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

1,256 workers (±170)

Salmon, Idaho
Idaho share

Drive alone75%947
Carpool12%†147
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 Lemhi County, the county holding most of Salmon's residents.

Lemhi County has 307 employer establishments, 363 for every 10,000 residents (1.46× the US rate of 248; 1.23× Idaho's), with 2,090 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,304. The Census Bureau also counts 896 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 307; 896 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 363; US 248 · Idaho 295
Paid employees: 2,090
Average annual pay: $42,304; US $68,342

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

Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	27	31.9	12.0×More than typical	66	$43,470	14
Other amusement and recreation industries	27	31.9	13.2×More than typical	66	$43,470	13
Construction of buildings	24	28.4	3.75×More than typical	50	$33,520	48
Restaurants and other eating places	21	24.8	1.35×More than typical	185	$17,659	3
Specialty trade contractors	21	24.8	1.60×More than typical	76	$50,092	79
Ambulatory health care services	20	23.6	1.13×About typical	145	$38,090	32
Full-service restaurants	12	14.2	1.85×More than typical	92	$19,283	—
Lessors of real estate	12	14.2	1.15×About typical	21	$29,048	92
Offices of other health practitioners	9	10.6	1.75×Too few to compare	44	$29,477	13
Other specialty trade contractors	9	10.6	4.24×Too few to compare	21	$37,571	45
Traveler accommodation	8	9.5	5.24×Too few to compare	89	$19,079	12
Gasoline stations	7	8.3	2.55×Too few to compare	49	$27,878	—

Rank places for an industry Open Lemhi County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 8,458 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: Salmon is mostly in Lemhi County.

See federal money in Lemhi 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.

Salmon, 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.

Lemhi County55100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Lemhi County

Largest first.

Leadore135

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/1671650

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends