Idaho's Center of Population

Do you ever toss and turn at night, plagued by the haunting question, “where, exactly, is the center of Idaho’s population?” Of course you do, everyone has. Well, I’m happy to have found the answer. Idaho’s center of population is…

… right here.

No wait, actually it’s six miles from here, but this is as close as you can get on a paved highway. It would seem that Idaho’s Center of Population is not very populated.

This is all geographical, statistical mumbo-jumbo, of course. But, in case you’re a stickler for such facts, you should know that the actual center of population is 5.92 miles from the marker, in a southwesterly direction, on a hillside near Elk Creek.

You’ll find the Center of Population tablet at a roadside picnic area along Idaho Rte. 21, north of Stanley (on the left-hand side of the road, assuming you’re headed northwest–away from Stanley).

Idaho’s population was 1,293,953 in the 2000 census. Will they have to move this marker after the 2010 census? Who knows.

Stanley, Idaho & Stanley Lake

Ponderosa Pine Scenic Route: Lowman, Idaho

Note: This trip was first published in 2006. Much of the same area was covered in the Big Sky trip in 2014.

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