The Town Files

12 Small Towns in Idaho With the Mildest Winters

Ranked by january average low (°f) among 36 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Idaho. #1 is Orofino, ID (January lows average 27.7°F).

Map of the 12 towns123456789101112
Numbers match the ranking.
12 Small Towns in Idaho With the Mildest Winters1. Orofino282. Mountain Home AFB273. Rathdrum264. Dalton Gardens265. Grangeville256. Payette247. Bonners Ferry248. Hidden Springs249. Emmett2310. Middleton2311. Sandpoint2312. Homedale23
  1. 12Homedale, Idaho

    January lows average 22.9°F

    2,881 people · Owyhee County · median home $238,000 · income $62,117 · Jan low 23°F · 9 in snow

  2. 11Sandpoint, Idaho

    January lows average 22.9°F

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

  3. 10Middleton, Idaho

    January lows average 23.0°F

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

  4. 9Emmett, Idaho

    January lows average 23.3°F

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

  5. 8Hidden Springs, Idaho

    January lows average 23.5°F

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

  6. 7Bonners Ferry, Idaho

    January lows average 23.7°F

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

  7. 6Payette, Idaho

    January lows average 24.0°F

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

  8. 5Grangeville, Idaho

    January lows average 24.5°F

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

  9. 4Dalton Gardens, Idaho

    January lows average 26.2°F

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

  10. 3Rathdrum, Idaho

    January lows average 26.2°F

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

  11. 2Mountain Home AFB, Idaho

    January lows average 27.0°F

    3,191 people · Elmore County · median home — · income $74,196 · Jan low 27°F

  12. 1Orofino, Idaho

    January lows average 27.7°F

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

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). Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: