Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,855, settled in 1900. 78% more nonprofits per person than the typical Idaho town.
Gooding grades C overall, 48th among Idaho's 58 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. On the other side, residents are less healthy than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. 28% of residents live below the poverty line in Gooding, above both Idaho’s towns (11%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Gooding's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 98% of U.S. towns. No town among the 59 in Idaho we compare has a lower median household income than Gooding.
Where Gooding beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Gooding | ID |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 26.5% | 12.8% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Idaho), ordered by how far Gooding is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,444 in 1910, 3,707 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and a map from 1971 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gooding, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Gooding.
Gooding is healthier than towns with similar incomes, trades workers with Twin Falls and other neighbors and is safe by national standards but not by Idaho’s.
Against the 2,990 U.S. towns with household incomes like Gooding’s, it is less healthy than 58%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
30% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Gooding. Only 1 of the 59 Idaho towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Gooding. 19% of adults report frequent mental distress in Gooding.
| Gooding | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 18% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 14% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 11% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Gooding | ID |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 26.5% | 12.8% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 13.1% | 6.6% |
| More uninsured adults | 21% | 10.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Gooding Joint District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Gooding High School, with 384 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gooding Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 484 | C− |
| Gooding High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 384 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ID on state tests and graduation
1.5 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. Gooding’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Gooding | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 2% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
60.5% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 46.9% across Idaho.
The typical Gooding home is worth about $328,000, up 2.5% in a year, 31% below the Idaho typical home. The median rent in Gooding is $861 a month.
| Gooding | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $861 a month | $1,125 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Gooding has chilly winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 92° and January nights drop to 21°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Gooding has about as many jobs (1,668) as working residents, but only 391 people both live and work here.
About one in 4 of Gooding’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Gooding has added 323 jobs, to 1,668 in 2023. The top destinations are Twin Falls (11%), Boise City (4%) and Jerome (4%).
| Gooding | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 20% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 59% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 20.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 70% of Idaho’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Gooding; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Gooding residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Idaho.
6 places in Gooding on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Gooding.
City in Idaho, United States
Gooding is the county seat of and the largest city in Gooding County, Idaho, United States. The population was 3,716 at the 2020 census. The city is named for Frank R. Gooding, a local sheep rancher who became a prominent political figure in Idaho in the early 20th century, serving as both Governor of Idaho and a United States Senator. The original name of Gooding was Toponis. Gooding is home to the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind. The world's largest factory for barrel cheese, the raw product for processed cheese, is located in Gooding. It has a capacity of 120,000 metric tons per year of barrel cheese and belongs to the Glanbia group. Gooding is also home to Gooding Elementary, Go…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Gooding grades C overall, better than 25% of U.S. towns and #48 of 58 in Idaho. It grades D for health, B− for safety and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 5.2 years of the area's median household income ($63,559 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
4 notable people were born here, including Robert LeFevre and Frank T. Cary.
