Idaho among most popular states people are moving to

It’s no secret Idaho is one of the fasting growing states in the nation. In fact, recent census information shows the Gem State was actually tied with Nevada in terms of growth from 2017 to 2018.

Over that span, Idaho saw a population increase of 2.1 percent. But why?

According to Jim Johnston, Pocatello City Council member and Keller Williams broker, there are many factors.

“So we’re seeing people coming in looking for jobs,” Johnston explained. “And we have good jobs.”

Jobs, cheap housing and safety are among the other reasons, but in Johnston’s mind, one thing stands above the rest.

“I think the quality of life is still the biggest reason people come here,” he said.

Denis Clijsters is a real estate investor and the CEO of Bricks & More.

Clijsters, a Belgian native, moved to Pocatello from the San Francisco Bay Area just over two years ago. He came here seeing an opportunity, but he did his research first.

“I definitely looked at the numbers before investing,” he said. “So I saw that there was population growth, I saw that there was nearly no unemployment and that the job growth was pretty high.”

But when it comes down to who is moving to Idaho, both Clijsters and Johnston said it was too broad a spectrum to narrow down.

“I couldn’t put one particular label on people because we’ve got first time home buyers, we’ve got the millennials that are starting to buy homes, the retirees are coming home,” Johnston said.

But no matter who is moving in, both men see the growth as sustainable. And with low costs of living and lots of opportunities statewide, it doesn’t appear that the population boom will slow anytime soon.