City · Benewah County, Idaho

St. Maries, Idaho

St. Maries is a city in Benewah County, Idaho. It has 2,915 residents. St. Maries, Idaho has a quality-of-life score of 29 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,141 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Idaho it ranks #92 of 101 cities and towns. It ranks best on loneliness (low), public libraries (high) and preventable hospital stays (low). It ranks worst on arts, entertainment and recreation (low), drought exposure (high) and math scores (low).

29Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,141 of 15,651 cities and towns
Idaho: #92 of 101 in ID
Population: 2,915 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 2,455.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 1671470

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.

Safety55#7,069/15,637
Economy45#8,653/15,631
Housing63#5,559/14,977
Health14#13,368/15,609
Healthcare26#11,570/15,650
Environment13#13,516/15,453
Education16#13,176/15,649
Infrastructure63#5,805/15,650
Community43#8,983/15,651
Leisure & amenities47#8,294/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where St. Maries, Idaho ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Benewah 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 · low31.2%
98/100Idaho 29.7%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Public libraries · high3.8 /10k
97/100Idaho 0.9 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesBenewah County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,557 /100k
96/100Idaho 1,575 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBenewah County value
Restaurants and bars · high15.2 /10k
95/100Idaho 9.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBenewah County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Idaho 1.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBenewah County value
Average commute time · low16.1 min
94/100Idaho 21.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.0 /10k
1/100Idaho 7.2 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBenewah County value
Drought exposure · high100%
1/100Idaho 73%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAABenewah County value
Math scores · low2.32
1/100Idaho 3.05United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBenewah County value
Reading scores · low2.47
1/100Idaho 3.09United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBenewah County value
Flu vaccinations · low23.0%
2/100Idaho 36.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBenewah County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Idaho 3.7 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyBenewah County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
0.3 /1k (2021) → 0.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+102%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
70.7% (2015-2019) → 85.4% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
17.8% (2015-2019) → 6.9% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
34.8% (2015-2019) → 45.6% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$45,000 (2015-2019) → $60,458 (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
17.4% (2015-2019) → 12.7% (2020-2024)
−4.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, St. Maries, Idaho improved on 0 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of St. Maries, Idaho between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.3 min2015-2019	16.1 min2020-2024	−3.3 min	Within the margin of error	81%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.4%2015-2019	16.9%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Broadband subscriptions	70.7%2015-2019	85.4%2020-2024	+15 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Effective property tax rate	0.87%2015-2019	0.63%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	65%
High school diploma or higher	90.0%2015-2019	90.2%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Home price to income ratio	3.4×2015-2019	3.9×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	50%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3932015-2019	0.4452020-2024	+0.052	Within the margin of error	15%
Median household income	$45,0002015-2019	$60,4582020-2024	+34%	Within the margin of error	64%
Poverty rate	17.4%2015-2019	12.7%2020-2024	−4.7 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Rent as share of income	23.9%2015-2019	28.3%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Rent-burdened households	34.8%2015-2019	45.6%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.9%2015-2019	10.1%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Within the margin of error	75%

“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 St. Maries, Idaho five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of St. Maries, 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, St. Maries, Idaho itself moved −5.4 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

2,915 residents (±387)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 30–39 women (−2.8 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

2,915 residents (±387)

St. Maries, Idaho
Idaho share

White93%2,717
Black0.1%†3
Hispanic or Latino2.7%†79

Education

1,947 residents (±266)

St. Maries, Idaho
Idaho share

No high school diploma9.8%†190
High school or GED39%755
Some college23%445

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

1,153 households (±174)

St. Maries, Idaho
Idaho share

Under $25k25%†292
$25k–50k20%†228
$50k–75k13%†153
$75k–100k12%†133
$100k–150k24%†278
$150k–200k3.9%†45
$200k or more2.1%†24

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $100k–150k (+15.1 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,153 households (±174)

St. Maries, Idaho
Idaho share

Own62%718
Rent38%435

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

410 households (±111)

St. Maries, Idaho
Idaho share

Under $75034%†139
$750–1,00030%†122
$1,000–1,50031%†129

Home values

718 homes (±130)

St. Maries, Idaho
Idaho share

Under $150k24%†175
$150k–250k30%†216
$250k–400k34%†242

Age of homes

1,193 homes (±170)

St. Maries, Idaho
Idaho share

2010 or later2.6%†31
2000–20090.3%†3
1980–199922%266

Size of homes

1,193 homes (±170)

St. Maries, Idaho
Idaho share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom16%†193
2 bedrooms32%381

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,332 workers (±227)

St. Maries, Idaho
Idaho share

Drive alone82%1,097
Carpool7.4%†98
Public transit2.6%†35
Walk1.1%†15
Bike0.0%0
Work from home6.5%†87
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Walk (−5.6 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,245 workers (±217)

St. Maries, Idaho
Idaho share

Under 15 min72%900
15–29 min7.8%†97
30–44 min2.7%†34

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Benewah County, the county holding most of St. Maries's residents.

Benewah County has 275 employer establishments, 265 for every 10,000 residents (1.07× the US rate of 248; 0.90× Idaho's), with 2,172 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,353. The Census Bureau also counts 856 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 275; 856 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 265; US 248 · Idaho 295
Paid employees: 2,172
Average annual pay: $49,353; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	25	24.1	4.76×More than typical	205	$53,717	35
Specialty trade contractors	21	20.2	1.31×More than typical	79	$40,152	100
Restaurants and other eating places	17	16.4	0.89×About typical	191	$14,995	3
Construction of buildings	12	11.5	1.53×More than typical	19	$48,526	50
Ambulatory health care services	9	8.7	0.42×Too few to compare	27	$45,630	37
Automotive repair and maintenance	7	6.7	1.34×Too few to compare	44	$51,500	11
Building equipment contractors	7	6.7	1.12×Too few to compare	45	$38,178	11
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	7	6.7	2.14×Too few to compare	17	$52,588	16
Gasoline stations	7	6.7	2.08×Too few to compare	46	$28,826	—
Limited-service restaurants	7	6.7	0.84×Too few to compare	83	$13,711	—
Banks and credit unions	6	5.8	1.79×Too few to compare	33	$37,333	—
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	6	5.8	4.76×Too few to compare	23	$13,435	3

Rank places for an industry Open Benewah County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 10,391 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: St. Maries is mostly in Benewah County.

See federal money in Benewah 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.

St. Maries, 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.

Benewah County29100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Benewah 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

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