Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Payette grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns, mostly because of schools and incomes. Its schools rank behind 86% of the state's. The median household income is $55K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line. It also has a long history, with 13 places on the National Register. Payette’s trail density is 3.3 miles per square mile, above both the Idaho town median (0.8) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Its National Register listings include A. B. Moss Building and Grant Whitney House. Only 4 of the 59 Idaho towns we compare have a higher July high than Payette.
Where Payette beats most towns.
Census counts: 614 in 1900, 8,127 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1951 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Idaho), ordered by how far Payette is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Payette, 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 Payette.
Payette sends many workers across the state line, has more trail for its size than nearly any town in Idaho and is safe by national standards but not by Idaho’s.
At 3.3 miles of trail per square mile, it ranks #3 of 43 Idaho towns.
14 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kiwanis Park | 0.2 mi | 18 |
| 2. Central Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Payette Joint District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Payette High School, with 319 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payette Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 477 | C− |
| Payette High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 319 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ID on state tests and graduation
36% of working residents cross a state line to work.
At $55,000, Payette’s median household income is against $69,000 in Idaho’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. Since 2013, Payette has added 220 jobs, to 1,779 in 2023. Payette’s average trip to work is 22 minutes.
| Payette | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $55,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Payette home is worth about $372,000, up 5.3% in a year, 22% below the Idaho typical home. The median rent in Payette is $837 a month. Among 59 Idaho towns, just 5 have a lower share of households owning their home than Payette.
| Payette | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $837 a month | $1,125 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Payette has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 94°, January nights drop to 23° and about 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1997, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Payette.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 7,481 U.S. towns with household incomes like Payette’s, it is healthier than 69%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Payette beats the Idaho average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 16% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Payette.
| Payette | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 11% | 8.1% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | Payette | ID |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 74.4% | 70.5% |
| More uninsured adults | 15.5% | 10.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 21.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 72% of Idaho’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 107 to 90 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Payette
About 2 of every 100 Payette residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Idaho.
Where Payette’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
13 places in Payette on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Payette.
City in Idaho, United States
Payette is a city in and the county seat of Payette County, Idaho, United States. As of the 2020 census, Payette had a population of 8,127. It is part of the Ontario, OR−ID Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Payette grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns. It grades C+ for health, C+ for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 5.9 years of the area's median household income ($62,568 across the Ontario, OR-ID area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
3 notable people were born here, including Harmon Killebrew and James A. McClure.
