Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mountain Home is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 54th among Idaho's 58 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: it reports less crime per resident than 62% of U.S. towns. Expect to pay for it: homes are expensive, about $360K for a typical one and 5.5 times the Mountain Home area’s $65K median household income. Mountain Home has 8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Mountain Home Carnegie Library and Mountain Home Hotel. Only 1 of the 59 Idaho towns we compare have a higher July high than Mountain Home. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 27% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top.
Where Mountain Home beats most towns.
14,206 counted in 2010 and 15,979 in 2020; an estimated 16,779 in 2025.
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 Mountain Home is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 233 in 1890, 15,979 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 3 maps from 1956 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mountain Home, 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 Mountain Home.
About one in 3 of Mountain Home’s working residents works in town. 3.6% of workers work from home in Mountain Home, below both Idaho’s towns (10%) and U.S. towns (11%). Since 2013, Mountain Home has added 601 jobs, to 4,012 in 2023.
| Mountain Home | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 29% | 20% | 8% |
| Work from home | 3.6% | 10% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Mountain Home District. Three of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 556 | C |
| Mountain Home Sr. High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 918 | C− |
| Richard McKenna Charter School - OnsiteTop results in townGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 113 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ID on state tests and graduation
5.7 miles of trail in 12 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is East Side Park, at 39 acres.
| Mountain Home | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Legacy Park | 1.1 mi | 38 |
| 2. Railroad Park | 0.4 mi | 6 |
| 3. East Side Park | — | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 2017, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mountain Home.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Mountain Home home is worth about $360,000, up 1.8% in a year, 24% below the Idaho typical home.
| Mountain Home | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 67% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,155 a month | $1,109 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Mountain Home has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 94° and January nights drop to 24°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In the comparison, Mountain Home comes against 35.2 years in Idaho’s towns and 40.5 years across U.S. towns. Adults 18 to 34 are 30% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 32% of residents (36% statewide). 13% of residents are 65 or older in Mountain Home.
| Mountain Home | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 31.7 years | 35.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 25% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 25% | 25% | 22% |
48% women, 52% men
About 108 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.8 points). Across Idaho, 49.7% of residents are women. Median age: women 32.7, men 30.9.
| Mountain Home | ID | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.4% | 12.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.7% | 11.6% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.2% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 18.8% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.8% | 13.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.4% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 11.7% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.4% | 10.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.8% | 6.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.5% | 8.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.3% | 26.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.5% | 24.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.7% | 9.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.3% | 21.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.7% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Mountain Home’s property crime rate is 5.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Mountain Home | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.1 per 1,000 residents | 6.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 9,608 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mountain Home’s, it is healthier than 74%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Mountain Home beats the Idaho average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 70% of Mountain Home adults had a checkup this year.
| Mountain Home | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 73% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 8.1% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 30% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Mountain Home | ID |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7% | 8.3% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 17.6% | 12.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Mountain Home; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Mountain Home residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Idaho.
8 places in Mountain Home on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Mountain Home.
City in Idaho, United States
Mountain Home is the largest city in and the county seat of Elmore County, Idaho, United States. The population was 15,979 in the 2020 census. The population in 2024 is projected to be 16,921. It is the principal city of the Mountain Home Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Elmore County. Mountain Home was originally a post office at Rattlesnake Station, a stagecoach stop on the Overland Stage Line, about seven miles (11 km) east of the city, on present-day US-20 towards Fairfield. With the addition of the Oregon Short Line Railroad in 1883, the post office was moved downhill and west to the city's present site. Mountain Home Air Force Base, an Air Combat Command installation, is …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mountain Home grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #54 of 58 in Idaho. It grades B− for health, B for safety and C for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
7 notable people were born here, including Victor Wooten and Richard McKenna.
