Best PlacesAmerican Falls, ID Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around American Falls, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
American Falls ranks 13,544th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in American Falls
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
American Falls' strengths and weaknesses
Where American Falls ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of towns
- Short commute14.9 minutes each way, better than 97% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 95% of towns
Where American Falls ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 10% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 12% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in American Falls
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median American Falls home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,408, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses American Falls' effective rate of 0.67%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in American Falls
American Falls runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for American Falls.
Who works in American Falls, and how
Work in American Falls centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in American Falls
American Falls has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of American Falls and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in American Falls, month by month
American Falls sees roughly 106 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 25° | 16° |
| April | 62° | 46° | 31° |
| July | 93° | 74° | 51° |
| October | 65° | 47° | 32° |
Flying in and out of American Falls
The nearest airport, Pocatello Regional, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Salt Lake City International, about 145 miles away.
The best schools in and around American Falls
Schools across American Falls average a C, better than 38% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Declo Elementary SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Aberdeen Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- J.r. Simplot Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Declo Jr High SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Aberdeen Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- William Thomas Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Declo Senior High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Aberdeen High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- American Falls High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every American Falls school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
American Falls measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare American Falls against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in American Falls
Is American Falls a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, American Falls ranks 13,544th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and walkability, and lowest on noise and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is American Falls expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $223,949. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $64,408 median income, cost of living beats 40% of towns.
Is American Falls safe?
Yes, American Falls is safer than 63% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $295 per resident a year.
Compare American Falls with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to American Falls. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in American Falls represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
American Falls detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for American Falls: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in American Falls: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of American Falls: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in American Falls: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
American Falls detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.