Photo: publichall · CC BY-SA 3.0How is Mountain Home run?
Mountain Home’s city government spent $14.7 million on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2024, about $891 per resident. Water and other utilities ($2.1 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Mountain Home is run
Read from the city’s budget, meetings and official records.
6 upcoming meetings at town hall
From Mountain Home’s own agenda portal, checked daily. Agendas can change up to the meeting, so check before you go.
- Nov10City CouncilTuesday · 5:00 pm · 160 South 3rd EastCity Council Meeting (2nd Tuesdays)Meeting page ↗Add to calendar
- Nov24City CouncilTuesday · 5:00 pm · 160 South 3rd EastCity Council Meeting (4th Tuesday)Meeting page ↗Add to calendar
- Dec8City CouncilTuesday · 5:00 pm · 160 South 3rd EastCity Council Meeting (2nd Tuesdays)Meeting page ↗Add to calendar
- Dec22City CouncilTuesday · 5:00 pm · 160 South 3rd EastCity Council Meeting (4th Tuesday)Meeting page ↗Add to calendar
- Jan12City CouncilTuesday · 5:00 pm · 160 South 3rd EastCity Council Meeting (2nd Tuesdays)Meeting page ↗Add to calendar
- Jan26City CouncilTuesday · 5:00 pm · 160 South 3rd EastCity Council Meeting (4th Tuesday)Meeting page ↗Add to calendar
Recent meetings
- Oct27City CouncilTuesday · 5:00 pm · 160 South 3rd EastCity Council Meeting (4th Tuesday)Meeting page ↗
- Oct13City CouncilTuesday · 5:00 pmOne Time EventMeeting page ↗
- Sep22City CouncilTuesday · 5:00 pm · 160 South 3rd EastCity Council Meeting (4th Tuesday)Meeting page ↗
- Sep8City CouncilTuesday · 5:00 pm · 160 South 3rd EastCity Council Meeting (2nd Tuesdays)Meeting page ↗
- Aug25City CouncilTuesday · 5:00 pm · 160 South 3rd EastCity Council Meeting (4th Tuesday)Meeting page ↗
Most meetings are open to the public, and many have a public comment period at the start.
Agenda portal ↗About $891 per resident a year, or $2.44 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 22%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$740 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Mountain Home’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($740 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 26 Idaho cities of 10,000–24,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $756, and the middle half spent $677–$1,006. Mountain Home spent less than 58% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($2.8 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Idaho cities of 10,000–24,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Mountain Home itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 37% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Mountain Home reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $740 · 2023: $655 · 2024: $891. Per resident it went from $740 to $891 (up 20%), partly because the Census population behind it changed from 14,526 to 16,469.
full-time in March 2025, up from 107 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $1,863 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.60% of the home’s value, vs 0.49% across Idaho.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Mountain Home’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Mountain Home’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Mountain Home →
Who’s in charge in Mountain Home
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 152 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (16,469).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Mountain Home School District 193
Mountain Home’s K–12 school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $10,541 per pupil, $5,838 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Idaho districts overall: 21% local, 67% state, 12% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Mountain Home’s votes are counted by county
Idaho reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Mountain Home alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Elmore County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican73.0%7,791 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat24.5%2,611 votesOthers: 2.5% (270 votes).
Most votes in Elmore County: Donald J Trump
Idaho: Trump 66.9%, Harris 30.4%
100% of Mountain Home lies in Elmore County. Every 2024 race in Elmore County is on the county’s page.
Elmore County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Mountain Home.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: mountain-home.us ↗
- 2Idaho HouseState representatives
- 3Idaho SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Idaho
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Mountain Home’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Mountain Home’s government
How much does Mountain Home spend per resident?
About $891 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $740 was less than 58% of 26 Idaho cities of 10,000–24,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Mountain Home?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,863 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.60% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.49% across Idaho. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see mountain-home.us.
Who runs Mountain Home’s government?
See mountain-home.us for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Mountain Home yet.
How did Mountain Home vote in 2024?
Idaho counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Mountain Home alone. Elmore County, where 100% of Mountain Home lies, voted Trump 73.0%, Harris 24.5% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Mountain Home?
108 full-time and 30 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $554,369 (about $6.7M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Mountain Home in the state legislature?
State Senate District 8 (Christy Zito) and State House District 8 (Faye Thompson and Rob Beiswenger). The House district also covers 12 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
When is the next public meeting in Mountain Home?
The next posted meeting is City Council on Tuesday, November 10, at 5:00 pm in 160 South 3rd East, from the city’s own agenda portal.
Ask neighbors about Mountain Home’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →