Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in Idaho
The least rainfall in the country. Dry is easier on a building than wet, but it moves the cost somewhere else: irrigation, foundation movement in shrink-swell soils, and in the driest counties the price and reliability of water itself. Figures are NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals from the weather station nearest each county seat, so they describe a thirty-year average rather than any single year.
Idaho ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Custer County | 6.9" | Relatively Low | $295,600 |
| 2 | Lemhi County | 6.9" | Very Low | $282,100 |
| 3 | Butte County | 8.8" | Very Low | $195,800 |
| 4 | Payette County | 9.5" | Very Low | $310,700 |
| 5 | Gooding County | 9.8" | Very Low | $231,800 |
| 6 | Jerome County | 9.9" | Very Low | $254,000 |
| 7 | Canyon County | 10.0" | Relatively Low | $350,300 |
| 8 | Jefferson County | 10.1" | Very Low | $335,000 |
| 9 | Twin Falls County | 10.3" | Relatively Low | $292,700 |
| 10 | Cassia County | 10.3" | Relatively Low | $257,300 |
| 11 | Minidoka County | 10.3" | Very Low | $235,300 |
| 12 | Lincoln County | 10.5" | Very Low | $206,700 |
| 13 | Power County | 11.1" | Very Low | $191,200 |
| 14 | Owyhee County | 11.3" | Relatively Low | $281,600 |
| 15 | Ada County | 11.5" | Relatively Moderate | $476,000 |
| 16 | Boise County | 11.5" | Relatively Low | $424,100 |
| 17 | Elmore County | 11.5" | Relatively Low | $278,300 |
| 18 | Madison County | 12.0" | Relatively Low | $365,000 |
| 19 | Bingham County | 12.1" | Relatively Low | $258,000 |
| 20 | Clark County | 12.5" | Very Low | $203,000 |
| 21 | Nez Perce County | 12.9" | Very Low | $291,300 |
| 22 | Blaine County | 13.0" | Relatively Low | $663,800 |
| 23 | Oneida County | 13.1" | Very Low | $228,100 |
| 24 | Camas County | 14.6" | Very Low | $248,900 |
| 25 | Bannock County | 15.5" | Relatively Low | $267,200 |
| 26 | Caribou County | 15.7" | Very Low | $220,200 |
| 27 | Franklin County | 17.3" | Very Low | $304,000 |
| 28 | Bonneville County | 17.3" | Relatively Moderate | $327,000 |
| 29 | Latah County | 17.5" | Very Low | $342,500 |
| 30 | Bear Lake County | 17.9" | Very Low | $234,200 |
| 31 | Teton County | 19.4" | Very Low | $595,900 |
| 32 | Fremont County | 19.7" | Very Low | $281,800 |
| 33 | Lewis County | 20.0" | Very Low | $202,400 |
| 34 | Boundary County | 21.1" | Very Low | $344,100 |
| 35 | Washington County | 21.4" | Very Low | $250,300 |
| 36 | Gem County | 22.5" | Very Low | $367,300 |
| 37 | Adams County | 23.1" | Very Low | $327,300 |
| 38 | Valley County | 24.0" | Relatively Low | $599,500 |
| 39 | Kootenai County | 25.4" | Relatively Low | $467,400 |
| 40 | Idaho County | 30.6" | Relatively Low | $284,600 |
| 41 | Benewah County | 31.1" | Very Low | $255,800 |
| 42 | Bonner County | 34.0" | Relatively Low | $433,400 |
| 43 | Clearwater County | 40.9" | Relatively Low | $240,800 |
| 44 | Shoshone County | 45.1" | Relatively Low | $222,700 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Driest Counties across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in Idaho