Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 142,988, settled in 1894.
Yes, by almost any measure. Meridian earns an A, 1st of 58 graded towns in Idaho. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 90% of the country, the median household earns $101K, and its schools outperform 84% of the state's. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $536K for a typical one and 6.2 times the Boise City metro’s $86K median household income. On hazard risk, just 9 of Idaho’s 94 towns do better. Meridian is home to Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine. Among 58 Idaho towns, just 2 have a higher median rent than Meridian.
Where Meridian beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Hillsdale Elementary | PK–5 | 769 |
| Pleasant View Elementary | PK–5 | 747 |
| Siena Elementary | PK–5 | 565 |
75,092 counted in 2010 and 117,635 in 2020; an estimated 142,988 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 21.4% since 2020, after 56.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Idaho), ordered by how far Meridian is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 619 in 1910, 117,635 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1913 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Meridian. Close and well known come first.
10 mi Stadium & arenaAlbertsons Stadium
12 mi MuseumOld Idaho State Penitentiary
10 mi Stadium & arenaExtraMile Arena
10 mi Stadium & arenaIdaho Central Arena19 mi Ski areaBogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area117 runs · 1,792 ft vertical
10 mi GardenJulia Davis ParkAlbertsons Stadium: Iamneven, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Old Idaho State Penitentiary: Peter Wollheim, CC BY 2.5 · ExtraMile Arena: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Idaho Central Arena: mark6mauno, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Julia Davis Park: Karakorum9, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Meridian, 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 Meridian.
Meridian carries less natural-hazard risk than most of Idaho (mostly inland flooding), has schools in the top 5% of Idaho and trades workers with Boise City and other neighbors.
Its widest gap with Idaho is tooth loss: 8.9% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 16.2% statewide.
31% of Meridian adults sleep under 7 hours, against 34% in Idaho’s towns and 36% across U.S. towns. 18% of adults get no exercise outside work in Meridian. Meridian beats the Idaho average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Meridian | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 23% | 25% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.4% | 10% | 12% |
| What stands out | Meridian | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.9% | 16.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.7% | 12.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− ranks #2 of the 59 Idaho towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Joint School District No. 2. Three of its 51 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victory Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,075 | A |
| Mountain View High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,463 | A− |
| Renaissance High SchoolTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 662 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ID on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 86% of Idaho towns, with expected losses of about $104 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Meridian’s FEMA risk score is 9 of 100, below both Idaho’s towns (50 of 100) and U.S. towns (44 of 100). One flood insurance claim has been paid in Meridian since 2010.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 893 to 763 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Meridian’s property crime rate is 3.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Meridian | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 6.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
24 miles of trail in 31 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Discovery Park, at 59 acres.
| Meridian | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.4% | 2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Julius M. Kleiner Memorial Park | 0.9 mi | 58 |
| 2. Storey Park | 0.6 mi | 19 |
| 3. Champion Park | 0.4 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Meridian has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The July high in Meridian is 93°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Meridian has about as many jobs (57,938) as working residents, but only 13,463 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 33,421 in 2013 to 57,938.
About one in 4 of Meridian’s working residents works in town. 19% of Meridian workers work from home. Jobs based in Meridian grew to 57,938 in 2023, 24,517 more than in 2013.
| Meridian | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 19% | 9.9% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 20% | 8% |
| Median household income | $101,000 | $67,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6% | 12% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical value, about $536K, is 10% below its June 2022 peak.
The typical Meridian home is worth about $536,000, up 1.3% in a year, 12% above the Idaho typical home.
| Meridian | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 75% | 69% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 50% | 47% | 48% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7 within 15 miles of the center of Meridian
About 6 of every 100 Meridian residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Idaho.
9 places in Meridian on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Meridian.
3 towns share a border with Meridian.
At #1 in ID, it grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Eagle (A) comes closest.
| Town | ID rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meridian | #1 | A | C− | B+ | A− | A |
| Boise City | #20 | B+ | C− | C+ | B+ | A |
| Kuna | #25 | B | C+ | — | C+ | A− |
| Eagle | #2 | A | C− | — | A− | A |
Kuna and Eagle report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Meridian with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Meridian grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #1 of 58 in Idaho. It grades A for health, B+ for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
9 notable people were born here, including Vern Law and Ron Packard.
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