Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello, Idaho, is a charming, family-friendly valley city offering good schools and affordable homes.Courtesy of the City of Pocatello
- StateIdaho
- CountyBannock
- Population56,799
Tucked beneath the mountain peaks of the Bannock Range and home to Idaho State, one of Idaho’s biggest public universities, Pocatello is a charming family-friendly valley city offering good schools and affordable homes.
Once a rough railroad town at the crossroads of the Oregon and California trails, Pocatello’s historical downtown still shows vestiges of its past life, though you won’t find saloons or opera houses in operation anymore; instead, this 18-block area is now lined with antiques shops, art galleries, restaurants, and the delightfully odd Museum of Clean, which, as its name suggests, explores the concept of cleanliness, featuring an exhibit devoted to vacuums. Haunted history tours, summer concerts, First Friday Art Walks, and the Portneuf Valley Farmers Market are also regular happenings in this pocket of Pocatello.
Beyond downtown, locals can visit grizzly bears and mule deer at Zoo Idaho; learn about the area’s early explorers, fur traders, pioneers, and Native American nations at the Fort Hall Replica; tour a scaled-down reproduction of an old saloon, bank, and schoolhouse at the Pocatello Junction; or discover wonders of the Ice Age at the Idaho Museum of Natural History.
There are several options for outdoor adventures, too. The Portneuf River runs through the city, providing ample opportunities for kayaking and canoeing, or residents can hike along the City Creek Trail System, in the Cherry Springs Nature Area, or up the many mountains nearby. In winter, ice fishing, skating, and skiing abound.
While the city’s low crime rates and good public schools (a third of which rank above average per GreatSchools) are a boon, Pocatello locals are likely most grateful to find that those benefits don’t come with a steep price tag. Its median home price is $303,452—a third less than the state average—and the overall cost of living is relatively low compared with that of similar spots across the U.S.—KR
Once a rough railroad town at the crossroads of the Oregon and California trails, Pocatello’s historical downtown still shows vestiges of its past life, though you won’t find saloons or opera houses in operation anymore; instead, this 18-block area is now lined with antiques shops, art galleries, restaurants, and the delightfully odd Museum of Clean, which, as its name suggests, explores the concept of cleanliness, featuring an exhibit devoted to vacuums. Haunted history tours, summer concerts, First Friday Art Walks, and the Portneuf Valley Farmers Market are also regular happenings in this pocket of Pocatello.
Beyond downtown, locals can visit grizzly bears and mule deer at Zoo Idaho; learn about the area’s early explorers, fur traders, pioneers, and Native American nations at the Fort Hall Replica; tour a scaled-down reproduction of an old saloon, bank, and schoolhouse at the Pocatello Junction; or discover wonders of the Ice Age at the Idaho Museum of Natural History.
There are several options for outdoor adventures, too. The Portneuf River runs through the city, providing ample opportunities for kayaking and canoeing, or residents can hike along the City Creek Trail System, in the Cherry Springs Nature Area, or up the many mountains nearby. In winter, ice fishing, skating, and skiing abound.
While the city’s low crime rates and good public schools (a third of which rank above average per GreatSchools) are a boon, Pocatello locals are likely most grateful to find that those benefits don’t come with a steep price tag. Its median home price is $303,452—a third less than the state average—and the overall cost of living is relatively low compared with that of similar spots across the U.S.—KR
Town Information
| Median sale price for single family residences (2022) | $303,452 |
| Median household income | $57,286 |
| Racial and ethnic makeup of current residents | Asian: 1.96%, Black: 1.26%, Hispanic: 10.17% |
| Racial and ethnic makeup of U.S. | Asian: 6.1%, Black: 13.6%, Hispanic: 18.9% |
| High school district graduation rate (averages of districts were applied when necessary) | 92.63% |
| Percent of schools serving students in the area that rank "above average" (averages of districts were applied when necessary) | 32% |
| Number of hospitals within 25 miles recommended by over 50% of patients | 4 |
| Number of above-average nursing homes within 50 miles, per 100,000 households | 36 |
| Sharecare Community Well-Being Index Score (out of 100) | 50 |
Sources: ATTOM, U.S. Census Bureau, GreatSchools, Healthgrades, Caring.com, Sharecare