The Town Files

The 15 Best Small Towns to Retire in Idaho

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 36 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Idaho. #1 is Ketchum, ID.

Map of the 15 towns123456789101112131415
Numbers match the ranking.
The 15 Best Small Towns to Retire in Idaho1. Ketchum99th pct2. Grangeville98th pct3. Hidden Springs91st pct4. Weiser88th pct5. Salmon86th pct6. Orofino84th pct7. Dalton Gardens82nd pct8. Bonners Ferry80th pct9. McCall76th pct10. Hailey75th pct11. Emmett69th pct12. Montpelier68th pct13. Buhl65th pct14. Payette63rd pct15. Sandpoint62nd pct
  1. 15Sandpoint, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 62% of Idaho towns

    8,639 people · Bonner County · median home $465,600 · income $72,289 · Jan low 23°F · 62 in snow

  2. 14Payette, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 63% of Idaho towns

    8,127 people · Payette County · median home $276,500 · income $55,208 · Jan low 24°F · 15 in snow

  3. 13Buhl, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 65% of Idaho towns

    4,558 people · Twin Falls County · median home $247,500 · income $55,568 · Jan low 22°F · 24 in snow

  4. 12Montpelier, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 68% of Idaho towns

    2,643 people · Bear Lake County · median home $240,300 · income $61,375 · Jan low 7°F · 91 in snow

  5. 11Emmett, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 69% of Idaho towns

    7,647 people · Gem County · median home $342,000 · income $58,750 · Jan low 23°F · 7 in snow

  6. 10Hailey, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 75% of Idaho towns

    9,161 people · Blaine County · median home $637,800 · income $90,760 · Jan low 16°F · 85 in snow

  7. 9McCall, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 76% of Idaho towns

    3,686 people · Valley County · median home $676,500 · income $60,253 · Jan low 14°F · 132 in snow

  8. 8Bonners Ferry, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 80% of Idaho towns

    2,520 people · Boundary County · median home $281,400 · income $52,500 · Jan low 24°F · 54 in snow

  9. 7Dalton Gardens, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 82% of Idaho towns

    2,537 people · Kootenai County · median home $803,600 · income $80,000 · Jan low 26°F · 27 in snow

  10. 6Orofino, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 84% of Idaho towns

    2,656 people · Clearwater County · median home $223,400 · income $53,438 · Jan low 28°F · 18 in snow

  11. 5Salmon, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 86% of Idaho towns

    3,119 people · Lemhi County · median home $235,500 · income $42,844 · Jan low 11°F · 22 in snow

  12. 4Weiser, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 88% of Idaho towns

    5,630 people · Washington County · median home $223,400 · income $45,292 · Jan low 23°F · 15 in snow

  13. 3Hidden Springs, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 91% of Idaho towns

    3,076 people · Ada County · median home $773,500 · income $163,203 · Jan low 24°F · 57 in snow

  14. 2Grangeville, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 98% of Idaho towns

    3,308 people · Idaho County · median home $293,300 · income $61,322 · Jan low 25°F · 39 in snow

  15. 1Ketchum, Idaho

    Better for retirees than 99% of Idaho towns

    3,555 people · Blaine County · median home $824,000 · income $93,046 · Jan low 8°F · 102 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, Idaho towns0255075100$186K$340K$495K$649K$804KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 15 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in Idaho.

More Idaho rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 36 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Idaho (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: