Best PlacesJefferson County, ID Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Jefferson 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.
Jefferson County ranks 139th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Jefferson 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.
Jefferson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jefferson County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 97% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of counties
Where Jefferson County ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 17% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 21% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Jefferson County
A household needs to earn about $101,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jefferson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $86,106, 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 Jefferson County's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 Jefferson County
Jefferson County 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 Jefferson County.
Who works in Jefferson County, and how
Work in Jefferson County centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Jefferson County
Jefferson County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Jefferson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Jefferson County growing, and who is moving in?
Jefferson County has grown about 29% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Fremont County, ID.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Jefferson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Jefferson County, month by month
Jefferson County sees roughly 146 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 20° | 11° |
| April | 59° | 44° | 30° |
| July | 90° | 71° | 51° |
| October | 61° | 45° | 32° |
Flying in and out of Jefferson County
The nearest airport, Idaho Falls Regional, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Salt Lake City International, about 200 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jefferson County
Schools across Jefferson County average a B, better than 79% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Ririe Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Midway Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rigby Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Farnsworth Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- West Jefferson Middle SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Rigby High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Ririe Jr/sr High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- West Jefferson High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jefferson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jefferson 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 Jefferson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Jefferson County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of counties and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Jefferson County
Is Jefferson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jefferson County ranks 139th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, low crime, and heat safety, and lowest on tree cover 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 Jefferson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $405,314. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $86,106 median income, cost of living beats 86% of counties.
Is Jefferson County safe?
Yes, Jefferson County is safer than 98% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $217 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jefferson County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 30 with lows near 11. That works out to about 146 pleasant days a year, more than 91% of counties.
Is Jefferson County good for families?
Schools beat 79% of counties, crime safety beats 98%, and childcare runs $581 a month.
Compare Jefferson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jefferson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jefferson 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.
Jefferson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jefferson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jefferson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jefferson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jefferson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jefferson 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.