Local residents expected to increase 7.3 percent from 2015 to 2025
Latah County and Idaho populations on the rise
Latah County’s population is projected to increase 7.3 percent from 2015 to 2025, according to Sam Wolkenhauer, an Idaho Department of Labor regional labor economist. Latah County’s 2015 estimated population was 38,778, according to the Idaho Labor Market Information website, which means the population would grow to 41,608 if the projection is true.
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The IDL forecasts the statewide population will increase by 15.3 percent during the same 10 years.
The north-central region, which includes Idaho, Clearwater, Lewis, Nez Perce and Latah counties, is expected to grow 4.8 percent over the 10-year span, Wolkenhauer said.
“Latah County is growing a little slower than the statewide population, but it is the highest growth county in the (north-central) region,” Wolkenhauer said.
Since Moscow is the largest city in the county, Wolkenhauer said he expects the town to receive the greatest influx of people in the coming years.
National population growth is low at roughly 0.5 percent annually. Latah County growth is projected at nearly .06 percent annually, but Idaho’s annual growth is expected to be almost three times as high, or 1.4 percent a year, due to high levels of in-migration.
In other words, many people are moving to Idaho from other states, such as California and Washington, Wolkenhauer said.
He said people in their late 50s to early 70s are the largest age group moving to Idaho.
Those retirement-aged people are selling their homes in high-valued property markets, like San Francisco and Seattle, and then moving to the Gem State where they can purchase and retire in a very nice home at the equivalent price of those not-so-nice but more expensive homes in California and Washington, he said.
He said the Idaho cost of living is cheaper than places in Washington and California, which makes it appealing to live in Idaho.
While the 65 and older population accounts for 14.7 percent of Idaho’s population, it is forecast to account for 34.4 percent of the total growth by 2025, according to an IDL news release.
Meanwhile, the youth population is expected to grow more slowly due to declining birth rates, Wolkenhauer said. He said millennials are having fewer children and having them later in life than previous generations.
The state’s population growth is expected to be most prevalent in urban areas. More than two-thirds of the total growth is projected to occur in Idaho’s three most populous counties – Ada, Canyon and Kootenai counties.