About this site
Why did we create the Indicators Idaho website?
What indicators are available for Idaho and its counties?
What indicators are available for reservations?
What sources did we use?
How much confidence do we have in the indicators?
The Internet has revolutionized how we find information. It has also raised expectations about how quickly we find that information. When the mayor wants to know why applications for building permits are down, her city planner needs the most recent population estimates, not numbers that are five years old. When an agency staff person is writing a proposal to fund a job-training program, he needs today’s unemployment rates, not those from last year.
If you don’t know where to look, finding the latest measures of population, unemployment and other statistics can be a daunting task. That’s why we developed the Indicators Idaho website – to provide a one-stop source of up-to-date information on states, counties, reservations, and tribes. Whether you work for a non-profit group, private firm or public agency, this site is for you.
Here, you'll find text summaries that highlight major trends in each indicator. You'll also find information displayed with graphs and maps. Users who want to analyze the indicators further can download data in Excel spreadsheets.
For Idaho and its counties, the website includes 48 indicators in nine general categories:
- Population
- Income and poverty
- Employment
- Family and kids
- Education
- Housing
- Health
- Crime and safety
- County types
The Indicators Idaho website reports 11 indicators for American Indians living on reservations:
- Population
- Age
- Household types
- Occupied housing units
- Value of owner-occupied housing
- Labor force participation rate
- Educational attainment
- Teens unemployed and not in school
- Median household income
- Poverty rate, overall
- Poverty rate, by age
These 11 indicators are based on data from the Census of Population and Housing, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census every ten years. They pertain only to American Indians on the 5 reservations and trust lands in Idaho for which the U.S. Census Bureau reported data from the Census of Population and Housing and the American Community Survey (ACS). By reporting the information, we do not imply judgement about what does or does not constitute a reservation or trust land.
These same 11 indicators are also available for the total population living on these reservations.
Reservation names used here are from the Census Bureau's data files. We understand that some of these names are not necessarily preferred by people who live on the reservations. We would appreciate hearing from you about names that are no longer commonly used and should be corrected.
Data presented at Indicators Idaho come from a wide range of public sources. At the federal level, these sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, and U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, to name just a few. Some of our indicators – such as teen birth rates and mothers who receive late or no prenatal care – come from state sources.
Specific sources for each indicator are listed at the bottom of each indicator page. Most are online sources so we provide a clickable link for you to follow. The rest are from printed reports. For these, we give the title, date, and agency name.
Occasionally, people write us to say that certain numbers on Indicators Idaho look wrong. While we have made every effort to use the most reliable sources, it is inevitable that some estimates presented here will contain significant errors. If you have questions about the reliability of the data, go straight to the original source by clicking on the agency link presented on every page. Or, click on feedback and tell us what looks wrong. We appreciate your feedback.