Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,457, settled in 1889. A regional job hub with 1,674 jobs.
The best of St. Maries’ subject grades are an A− for walkability and the outdoors and an A for civic life; the weakest is a D for hazard risk. 38% of working residents work locally in St. Maries, where Idaho’s towns sit at 22% and U.S. towns at 8%. Only 9 of Idaho’s 94 towns score higher on history. The biggest park or preserve is Eleanor Park, at 23 acres. St. Maries has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where St. Maries beats most towns.
Where St. Maries’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Idaho), ordered by how far St. Maries is from typical.
St.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 869 in 1910, 2,357 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1911 and 3 maps from 1957 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in St. Maries, 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 St. Maries.
About one in 3 of St. At 16 minutes, St. Maries’ average trip to work is below both Idaho’s towns (20 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). The median household income in St. Maries is $60,000.
| St. Maries | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $67,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 12% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the St Maries Joint District. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heyburn Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 339 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ID on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 86% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in St. Maries.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
St. 17% of St. Maries adults report frequent physical distress. Only 3 of the 60 Idaho towns we compare have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than St. Maries.
| St. Maries | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 23% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 18% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | St. Maries | ID |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 75.4% | 70.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.4% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical St. St. Maries’ median rent is $871 a month. Typical home values rose 3.1% in the year to September 2026.
| St. Maries | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $871 a month | $1,117 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Maries has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 25° and about 56 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.9 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| St. Maries | Idaho towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.2% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Eleanor Park | 0.6 mi | 23 |
| 2. Hillcrest Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of St. Maries; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 St. Maries residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Idaho.
4 places in St. Maries on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in St. Maries.
City in Idaho, United States
St. Maries (/seɪnt 'mɛəriz/, saynt MAIR-eez) or Saint Maries is a city in north central Idaho, the largest in rural Benewah County and its county seat. Its population was 2,357 at the 2020 census, down from 2,402 in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
St. 7 notable people were born here, including Georgia Coleman and Tom Mueller.
