Best PlacesBlaine County, ID Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Blaine County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Blaine County ranks 140th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Blaine County
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.
Blaine County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Blaine County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of counties
- BikingBetter than 97% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 97% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of counties
Where Blaine County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cheap childcare$974 a month, better than only 18% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Blaine County
A household needs to earn about $211,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Blaine County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $101,431, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Blaine County's effective rate of 0.38%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Blaine County
Blaine County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Blaine County.
Who works in Blaine County, and how
Work in Blaine County centers on construction and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Blaine County
Blaine County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Blaine County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Blaine County growing, and who is moving in?
Blaine County has grown about 18% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Los Angeles, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Blaine County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Blaine County, month by month
Blaine County sees roughly 122 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 23° | 16° |
| April | 55° | 43° | 33° |
| July | 86° | 70° | 54° |
| October | 58° | 45° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Blaine County
The nearest airport, Friedman Memorial, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 96 miles away.
The best schools in and around Blaine County
Schools across Blaine County average a B−, better than 68% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Stanley Elem/jr High SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Syringa Mountain Charter SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Ernest Hemingway Steam SchoolA− · 59% proficient
Top middle schools
- Declo Jr High SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Snake River Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Wood River Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Camas County High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Butte County Middle/high SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Wood River High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Blaine County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Blaine County 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 Blaine County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Blaine County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 15% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 76% of counties, health care access beats 80%, and it is quieter than 68%.
Common questions about living in Blaine County
Is Blaine County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Blaine County ranks 140th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, biking, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on an overheated housing market and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Blaine County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $856,458. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $101,431 median income, cost of living beats 94% of counties.
Is Blaine County safe?
Blaine County is safer than 38% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $404 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Blaine County?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 31 with lows near 16. That works out to about 122 pleasant days a year, more than 76% of counties.
Is Blaine County good for families?
Schools beat 68% of counties, crime safety beats 38%, and childcare runs $974 a month.
Compare Blaine County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Blaine County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Blaine County 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.
Blaine County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Blaine County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Blaine County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Blaine County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Blaine County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Blaine County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.