The Town Files

The 13 Best Small Towns for First-Time Home Buyers in Idaho

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

Map of the 13 towns12345678910111213
Numbers match the ranking.
The 13 Best Small Towns for First-Time Home Buyers in Idaho1. Buhl92nd pct2. Rigby91st pct3. Fruitland88th pct4. Payette84th pct5. Middleton82nd pct6. Grangeville82nd pct7. Gooding79th pct8. Fort Hall76th pct9. Weiser75th pct10. Montpelier72nd pct11. Emmett64th pct12. Preston64th pct13. Rathdrum63rd pct
  1. 13Rathdrum, Idaho

    Better for first-time buyers than 63% of Idaho towns

    9,211 people · Kootenai County · median home $444,100 · income $86,563 · Jan low 26°F · 27 in snow

  2. 12Preston, Idaho

    Better for first-time buyers than 64% of Idaho towns

    5,591 people · Franklin County · median home $350,300 · income $61,039 · Jan low 15°F · 52 in snow

  3. 11Emmett, Idaho

    Better for first-time buyers than 64% of Idaho towns

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

  4. 10Montpelier, Idaho

    Better for first-time buyers than 72% of Idaho towns

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

  5. 9Weiser, Idaho

    Better for first-time buyers than 75% of Idaho towns

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

  6. 8Fort Hall, Idaho

    Better for first-time buyers than 76% of Idaho towns

    3,195 people · Bannock County · median home $203,300 · income $44,514 · Jan low 15°F · 28 in snow

  7. 7Gooding, Idaho

    Better for first-time buyers than 79% of Idaho towns

    3,707 people · Gooding County · median home $186,100 · income $41,899 · Jan low 22°F

  8. 6Grangeville, Idaho

    Better for first-time buyers than 82% of Idaho towns

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

  9. 5Middleton, Idaho

    Better for first-time buyers than 82% of Idaho towns

    9,425 people · Canyon County · median home $403,100 · income $89,013 · Jan low 23°F · 10 in snow

  10. 4Payette, Idaho

    Better for first-time buyers than 84% of Idaho towns

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

  11. 3Fruitland, Idaho

    Better for first-time buyers than 88% of Idaho towns

    6,072 people · Payette County · median home $329,600 · income $65,457 · Jan low 23°F · 15 in snow

  12. 2Rigby, Idaho

    Better for first-time buyers than 91% of Idaho towns

    5,038 people · Jefferson County · median home $336,200 · income $85,056 · Jan low 15°F · 66 in snow

  13. 1Buhl, Idaho

    Better for first-time buyers than 92% of Idaho towns

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

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, Idaho towns0255075100$186K$340K$495K$649K$804KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 13 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: