Idaho’s 10 largest counties accounted for 85.5% of the state’s total population growth last year, according to the newest data from the U.S. Census Bureau — including two North Idaho counties.

Kootenai County, which ranks as the third largest county in Idaho with an estimated 188,323 people, saw a 1.7% increase in total population between July 2023 and July 2024, Census data shows. Bonner County, ranking 8th in the state with an estimated 53,955 people, saw a total population increase of 2.4%.

The population growth in Kootenai County is fairly dispersed between the county’s largest cities, data suggests.

Rathdrum, the county’s fourth largest city, has seen the highest influx of people with a growth rate of 6.19% since 2020, according to data from World Population Review. Rathdrum’s estimated population in 2025 is 13,107.

Coeur d’Alene, the county’s largest city, has seen a population increase of 1.13% in that same period. Coeur d’Alene’s population is currently sitting around 58,195.

Only one of Kootenai County’s 10 largest cities has seen a decrease in population: Dalton Gardens, ranked sixth in size by WPR, is down 0.36% in population since 2020 at about 2,495 people.

In Bonner County, the county’s second-largest city of Ponderay has seen the largest growth in population with an increase of 10.03% since 2020. An estimated population of 2,391 people live there in 2025, WPR data shows. Sandpoint, the county’s largest city, has grown to 10,886 people, up by 4.12% since 2020.

Even as North Idaho’s most populous counties continue to grow, the growth of the state as a whole appears to have slowed following a surge in 2021, when Idaho saw 3% growth in total population. In the past year, the state saw a population growth of 1.5%, adding 30,500 total residents.

Additionally, none of Idaho’s counties or census-designated areas placed in the Top 10 nationally for largest population growth, the Idaho Statesman originally reported. Instead, Florida and Texas were among the states that are seeing surges in growth.

The newest Census data was also reflective of another nationwide trend: Urban counties are seeing more growth compared to rural counties as cities experience a post-pandemic “resurgence,” Idaho Department of Labor economist Jan Roeser told the Statesman. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic brought a rush of new residents to Idaho, particularly impacting rural areas of low population density that offered outdoor recreation,” Roeser said in a news release. “This growth spurt has reversed in a good portion of Idaho’s smaller counties, likely due to the larger population areas having more services to offer the aging populations.”