Safest Places to Live in Idaho of September 2026
Idaho is located in the northwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Washington, and Oregon. Its northern part touches the Canadian province of British Columbia. This state’s nickname, the Gem State, indicates its reputation for gemstones and numerous wilderness areas.
With slightly under 1.7 million residents, Idaho is the 39th most populous state. Its capital and largest city is Boise, which is home to over 220,000 people. The territory of modern Idaho used to be a land of Native American people. After some turbulence, Idaho became a state relatively late, in 1890.
Idaho’s economy relies on manufacturing, agriculture, mining, forestry, and tourism. Idaho National Laboratory is the largest Department of Energy facility in the entire United States. Still, Idaho is best known for its potato crop, which is so big that it represents around 33% of the nationwide yield.
Ranking Criteria
ElitePersonalFinance extracted the latest data from the FBI crime statistics in the United States. We took violent crime as the main criteria. To get our score, we used this formula:
Crime Score = ( Total Number of Violent Crimes / Population ) * 1,000
This way, safer cities got the lowest score, and those more vulnerable to crimes got higher scores.
The cities that did not report crimes to the FBI and those under 5,000 residents were not included in the list.
10 Safest Places in Idaho of September 2026
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Weiser | Population:5369 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:2 | City:Rexburg | Population:29109 | Total Number of Crimes:6 | Crime Score:0,21 |
| Rank:3 | City:Moscow | Population:26018 | Total Number of Crimes:7 | Crime Score:0,27 |
| Rank:4 | City:Fruitland | Population:5472 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:0,55 |
| Rank:5 | City:Rupert | Population:5791 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:0,69 |
| Rank:6 | City:Rathdrum | Population:8968 | Total Number of Crimes:8 | Crime Score:0,89 |
| Rank:7 | City:Preston | Population:5533 | Total Number of Crimes:5 | Crime Score:0,90 |
| Rank:8 | City:Lewiston | Population:32931 | Total Number of Crimes:42 | Crime Score:1,28 |
| Rank:9 | City:Middleton | Population:8395 | Total Number of Crimes:11 | Crime Score:1,31 |
| Rank:10 | City:Meridian | Population:111196 | Total Number of Crimes:177 | Crime Score:1,59 |
Crime Score in All Cities in Idaho of September 2026
If your city didn’t make our list, you could see our full list of Idaho cities.
We can’t compare crime rates in small and large cities. That’s why ElitePersonalFinance made a detailed analysis and narrowed the results according to population segments:
- Under 3,000 Residents
- 3,000 – 30,000 Residents
- Over 30,000 Residents
(Other sites don’t include places with under 3,000 residents, but we included them.)
These are the results that we got:
Under 3,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Cottonwood | Population:935 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:2 | City:Bonners Ferry | Population:2606 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,38 |
| Rank:3 | City:Pinehurst | Population:1616 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,62 |
| Rank:4 | City:Osburn | Population:1549 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,65 |
| Rank:5 | City:Hagerman | Population:883 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:1,13 |
| Rank:6 | City:Sun Valley | Population:1482 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:1,35 |
| Rank:7 | City:Ponderay | Population:1145 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:1,75 |
| Rank:8 | City:Challis | Population:1087 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:1,84 |
| Rank:9 | City:Wendell | Population:2707 | Total Number of Crimes:5 | Crime Score:1,85 |
| Rank:10 | City:Kellogg | Population:2117 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:1,89 |
| Rank:11 | City:Spirit Lake | Population:2596 | Total Number of Crimes:5 | Crime Score:1,93 |
| Rank:12 | City:Montpelier | Population:2514 | Total Number of Crimes:5 | Crime Score:1,99 |
| Rank:13 | City:Aberdeen | Population:1946 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:2,06 |
| Rank:14 | City:Bellevue | Population:2441 | Total Number of Crimes:7 | Crime Score:2,87 |
| Rank:15 | City:Priest River | Population:1868 | Total Number of Crimes:6 | Crime Score:3,21 |
| Rank:16 | City:Parma | Population:2152 | Total Number of Crimes:7 | Crime Score:3,25 |
| Rank:17 | City:Ketchum | Population:2843 | Total Number of Crimes:12 | Crime Score:4,22 |
| Rank:18 | City:Ashton | Population:1052 | Total Number of Crimes:6 | Crime Score:5,70 |
3,000 – 30,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Weiser | Population:5369 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:2 | City:Rexburg | Population:29109 | Total Number of Crimes:6 | Crime Score:0,21 |
| Rank:3 | City:Shelley | Population:4423 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,23 |
| Rank:4 | City:Moscow | Population:26018 | Total Number of Crimes:7 | Crime Score:0,27 |
| Rank:5 | City:American Falls | Population:4354 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:0,46 |
| Rank:6 | City:Fruitland | Population:5472 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:0,55 |
| Rank:7 | City:Heyburn | Population:3460 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:0,58 |
| Rank:8 | City:Gooding | Population:3457 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:0,58 |
| Rank:9 | City:Rupert | Population:5791 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:0,69 |
| Rank:10 | City:Rigby | Population:4225 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:0,71 |
| Rank:11 | City:Rathdrum | Population:8968 | Total Number of Crimes:8 | Crime Score:0,89 |
| Rank:12 | City:Preston | Population:5533 | Total Number of Crimes:5 | Crime Score:0,90 |
| Rank:13 | City:St. Anthony | Population:3572 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:1,12 |
| Rank:14 | City:Kimberly | Population:4052 | Total Number of Crimes:5 | Crime Score:1,23 |
| Rank:15 | City:Middleton | Population:8395 | Total Number of Crimes:11 | Crime Score:1,31 |
| Rank:16 | City:Sandpoint | Population:8873 | Total Number of Crimes:16 | Crime Score:1,80 |
| Rank:17 | City:Grangeville | Population:3205 | Total Number of Crimes:7 | Crime Score:2,18 |
| Rank:18 | City:Soda Springs | Population:3029 | Total Number of Crimes:7 | Crime Score:2,31 |
| Rank:19 | City:Hailey | Population:8575 | Total Number of Crimes:20 | Crime Score:2,33 |
| Rank:20 | City:Chubbuck | Population:15490 | Total Number of Crimes:37 | Crime Score:2,39 |
| Rank:21 | City:Payette | Population:7535 | Total Number of Crimes:23 | Crime Score:3,05 |
| Rank:22 | City:Blackfoot | Population:11938 | Total Number of Crimes:42 | Crime Score:3,52 |
| Rank:23 | City:Jerome | Population:11921 | Total Number of Crimes:42 | Crime Score:3,52 |
| Rank:24 | City:Emmett | Population:6950 | Total Number of Crimes:25 | Crime Score:3,60 |
| Rank:25 | City:Buhl | Population:4440 | Total Number of Crimes:16 | Crime Score:3,60 |
| Rank:26 | City:McCall | Population:3541 | Total Number of Crimes:13 | Crime Score:3,67 |
| Rank:27 | City:Mountain Home | Population:14476 | Total Number of Crimes:54 | Crime Score:3,73 |
| Rank:28 | City:Garden City | Population:12033 | Total Number of Crimes:53 | Crime Score:4,40 |
| Rank:29 | City:Salmon | Population:3141 | Total Number of Crimes:17 | Crime Score:5,41 |
Over 30,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Lewiston | Population:32931 | Total Number of Crimes:42 | Crime Score:1,28 |
| Rank:2 | City:Meridian | Population:111196 | Total Number of Crimes:177 | Crime Score:1,59 |
| Rank:3 | City:Post Falls | Population:35649 | Total Number of Crimes:68 | Crime Score:1,91 |
| Rank:4 | City:Coeur d’Alene | Population:52256 | Total Number of Crimes:132 | Crime Score:2,53 |
| Rank:5 | City:Idaho Falls | Population:62088 | Total Number of Crimes:172 | Crime Score:2,77 |
| Rank:6 | City:Boise | Population:231314 | Total Number of Crimes:649 | Crime Score:2,81 |
| Rank:7 | City:Nampa | Population:98208 | Total Number of Crimes:306 | Crime Score:3,12 |
| Rank:8 | City:Caldwell | Population:57940 | Total Number of Crimes:203 | Crime Score:3,50 |
| Rank:9 | City:Twin Falls | Population:50463 | Total Number of Crimes:201 | Crime Score:3,98 |
| Rank:10 | City:Pocatello | Population:56514 | Total Number of Crimes:233 | Crime Score:4,12 |
How safe do you feel?
Is your city safe enough? Are you worried because of the crime rate in your town? Do you have any thoughts on safety levels in the country?
If you want to share anything, feel free to leave a comment. That way, you can help us understand your perspective better.
Thank you!
Archives
- Safest Places to Live in Idaho 2020
- Safest Places to Live in Idaho 2019
- Safest Places to Live in Idaho 2018
- Safest Places to Live in Idaho 2017
- Safest Places to Live in Idaho 2016
Sources:
