The 10 Idaho Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2023


We used science and data to determine which cities in Idaho have the largest African American population.

The Black community is one of the fastest growing communities in America this decade.

There are now 42 million people who identify as Black or African American living in America, making up 12% of the total population. According to the most recent American Community Survey, the Black population in Idaho is 11,392 - at 0.6% of the total population of Idaho.

The percentage growth of Blacks in America is the third largest percentage change for any race according to the Census's race and ethnicity definition. As most scholars and historians agree, an increase in the diversity in America is a good thing.

We agree.

But how has the increase in the black population impacted Idaho? Which cities and towns in Idaho have seen the greatest increase in its Black population?

We broke down the most recent census data to determine the cities in Idaho with the largest African American population in 2023:

  1. Mountain Home
  2. Moscow
  3. Boise City
  4. Meridian
  5. Twin Falls
  6. Nampa
  7. Pocatello
  8. Eagle
  9. Payette
  10. Idaho Falls

What's the blackest city in Idaho? Mountain Home took the number one over all spot for the largest Black population in Idaho for 2023. See if it ranked as one of the most african american cities in America.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked.

To see where Idaho ranked as a state on diversity, we have a ranking of the most diverse states in America.

And if you already knew these places were Black, check out the best places to live in Idaho or the most diverse places in Idaho.

The 10 Blackest Cities In Idaho For 2023

1. Mountain Home

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 15,863
% African American: 3.01%
# Of African American Residents: 477
Percent Change Since 2010: -2.85%
More on Mountain Home: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Mountain Home, ID

2. Moscow

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 25,336
% African American: 1.61%
# Of African American Residents: 409
Percent Change Since 2010: 32.79%
More on Moscow: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Moscow, ID

3. Boise City

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 231,537
% African American: 1.55%
# Of African American Residents: 3,592
Percent Change Since 2010: 37.15%
More on Boise City: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Boise City, ID

4. Meridian

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 115,227
% African American: 1.22%
# Of African American Residents: 1,408
Percent Change Since 2010: 94.21%
More on Meridian: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Meridian, ID

Source: Public domain

5. Twin Falls

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 51,223
% African American: 1.06%
# Of African American Residents: 544
Percent Change Since 2010: 90.88%
More on Twin Falls: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Twin Falls, ID

6. Nampa

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 98,881
% African American: 0.95%
# Of African American Residents: 943
Percent Change Since 2010: 83.82%
More on Nampa: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Nampa, ID

7. Pocatello

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 55,865
% African American: 0.9%
# Of African American Residents: 501
Percent Change Since 2010: 20.14%
More on Pocatello: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Pocatello, ID

Source: Public domain

8. Eagle

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 29,665
% African American: 0.64%
# Of African American Residents: 189
Percent Change Since 2010: 302.13%
More on Eagle: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Eagle, ID

9. Payette

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,999
% African American: 0.6%
# Of African American Residents: 48
Percent Change Since 2010: 1100.0%
More on Payette: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Payette, ID

10. Idaho Falls

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 64,399
% African American: 0.44%
# Of African American Residents: 281
Percent Change Since 2010: 30.7%
More on Idaho Falls: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Idaho Falls, ID

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Idaho With The Largest Black Population For 2023

We still believe in the accuracy of data -- especially from the census. So that's where we went to get the breakdown of race across Idaho.

That lead us to the Census's most recently available data, the 2017-2021 American Community Survey data from the US Census.

Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:

  • Hispanic or Latino
  • White alone*
  • Black or African American alone*
  • American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
  • Asian alone*
  • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
  • Some other race alone*
  • Two or more races*
* Not Hispanic or latino

Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as Black or African American.

We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 32 cities.

We then calculated the percent of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 3.0% to 0.0%.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percent of Black population with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. Mountain Home took the distinction of being the most Black, while Emmett was the least African American city. You can download the data here.

Read on for more information on how the cities in Idaho ranked by population of African American residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.

Summary: Black Populations Across Idaho

If you're looking for a breakdown of African American populations across Idaho according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the least African American places in Idaho:

  1. Emmett
  2. Hailey
  3. Rupert

For more Idaho reading, check out:

African American Population By City In Idaho

Rank City % African American Population
1 Mountain Home 3.01% 15,863
2 Moscow 1.61% 25,336
3 Boise City 1.55% 231,537
4 Meridian 1.22% 115,227
5 Twin Falls 1.06% 51,223
6 Nampa 0.95% 98,881
7 Pocatello 0.9% 55,865
8 Eagle 0.64% 29,665
9 Payette 0.6% 7,999
10 Idaho Falls 0.44% 64,399
11 Star 0.41% 10,929
12 Rexburg 0.4% 33,684
13 Blackfoot 0.39% 12,106
14 Coeur D'alene 0.36% 53,189
15 Caldwell 0.36% 58,872
16 Hayden 0.2% 15,316
17 Post Falls 0.18% 38,162
18 Middleton 0.14% 9,091
19 Sandpoint 0.14% 8,448
20 Chubbuck 0.14% 15,445
21 Garden City 0.12% 12,056
22 Lewiston 0.09% 33,964
23 Ammon 0.09% 17,401
24 Burley 0.04% 11,274
25 Weiser 0.02% 5,578
26 Kuna 0.01% 23,765
27 Preston 0.0% 5,545
28 Rathdrum 0.0% 9,099
29 Jerome 0.0% 12,182
30 Rupert 0.0% 5,994
31 Hailey 0.0% 9,001
32 Emmett 0.0% 7,408

How Is The Area In ?

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the cities in Idaho with the largest African American population.
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.