Idaho’s current budget

Governor Brad Little released his FY 2026 budget proposal and gave the state of state address in January 2025. The FY 2026 budget was enacted in April 2025.

Idaho enacted a series of bills comprising the state’s FY 2025 budget in March 2024. The budget reported $5.3 billion in general fund spending, an increase of 2 percent over the previously enacted budget. In 2025, Idaho enacted the state’s largest income tax cut after passing an individual and corporate income tax cut in 2024. Idaho also passed a property tax cut in calendar year 2023. This tax reduction followed large individual income tax cuts in both 2022 and 2021.

Under the American Rescue Plan, Idaho received $1.1 billion in direct state fiscal aid and $471 million in local government aid from the federal government. As of January 2025, Idaho had fully allocated its state ARP. States must spend the funds by Dec. 31, 2026.

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), Idaho’s total expenditures in fiscal year FY 2025 were $12.5 billion, including general funds, other state funds, bonds, and federal funds. NASBO reported that total expenditures across all states in FY 2025 were $2.9 trillion, ranging from $5.4 billion in Wyoming to $413.8 billion in California.

According to NASBO, Idaho’s recent expenditure totals (general fund spending/total spending, including federal transfers) were:

• FY 2025: $5.3 billion/$16.1 billion
• FY 2024: $5.0 billion/$12.1 billion
• FY 2023: $4.5 billion/$12.3 billion
• FY 2022: $4.3 billion/$11.1 billion
• FY 2021: $3.8 billion/$10.2 billion
• FY 2020: $4.5 billion/$11.7 billion
• FY 2019: $4.3 billion/$10.9 billion

For more on Idaho’s budget, see

• the Idaho Division of Financial Management,
  
• the Idaho Office of the State Controller,
  
• Transparent Idaho, and
  
• the Idaho Legislative Services Office: Budget & Policy Analysis Division.

Idaho’s budget institutions, rules, and constraints

Idaho uses an annual budget. The legislature must pass a balanced budget, but it can carry a deficit over into the following year. Idaho further limits spending growth with a formula related to the state’s personal income growth. The rule is binding and requires a legislative supermajority to override it. The state also limits total authorized debt and debt service.

(Note: Some states have informal budget institutions that constrain overall spending growth or a specific expenditure’s growth.)

Overview of Idaho’s state and local expenditure and revenue sources

Each state allocates spending and taxes differently among different levels of governments, and local governments often administer programs with state funds, so combined state and local government data show a more complete picture of individual benefits and contributions when comparing states.

Per the US Census Bureau, Idaho’s combined state and local direct general expenditures were $16.8 billion in FY 2022 (the most recent year census data were available), or $8,681 per capita. (Census data exclude “business-like” activities such as utilities and transfers between state and local governments.) National per capita direct general expenditures were $12,083.

Idaho’s largest spending areas per capita were public welfare ($2,176) and elementary and secondary education ($1,508). The Census Bureau includes most Medicaid spending in public welfare but also allocates some of it to public hospitals. Per capita spending is useful for state comparisons but is an incomplete metric because it doesn’t provide any information about a state’s demographics, policy decisions, administrative procedures, or residents’ choices.

Idaho’s combined state and local general revenues were $20.0 billion in FY 2022, or $10,338 per capita. National per capita general revenues were $13,619. Idaho uses all major state and local taxes. After federal transfers, Idaho’s largest sources of per capita revenue were charges ($1,742), such as state university tuition and highway tolls, and general sales taxes ($1,508).

Idaho’s economic trends

Idaho’s per capita income (per the Bureau of Economic Analysis) was $61,836 in 2024, ranking 42nd among the states. It was below both the national average of $72,425 and the Rocky Mountain regional average of $70,311. The state’s median household income (five-year estimate) was $77,800 in 2024, ranking 24th among the states and below the national average of $80,734. Idaho’s poverty rate was 10.6 percent in 2024 (five-year estimate), below the national rate of 12.5 percent.

Although Idaho’s averages tell a story about the entire state, Idaho is composed of diverse localities. For example, the city of Rexburg’s median household income was $50,617, and its poverty rate was 32.5 percent; the city of Eagle’s median household income was $122,894, and its poverty rate was 6.1 percent.

Idaho’s unemployment rate has historically been below the national average, and in recent years it has been among the lowest in the country.

Unemployment rates (like other economic indicators) often vary significantly by race and ethnicity. In Idaho, the average unemployment rate in 2024 was 3.6 percent for white residents and 3.6 percent for Hispanic or Latino residents.

The major industries that contributed the most to Idaho’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 were finance, professional services, government, social services (i.e. health and education), and manufacturing. Social services contributed more to Idaho’s GDP than it did to the nation’s and region’s GDP, while finance, professional services, and government were less important to Idaho than they were to the nation and region in 2024.

Looking at more specific industries, among those that accounted for at least 1 percent of Idaho’s GDP in 2023, farms produced far more for the state than for the nation, contributing 3.3 percent to Idaho’s GDP and 0.8 percent to the nation’s. Other industries that overperformed in Idaho relative to national averages in 2023 were construction, real estate, retail, and food and beverage manufacturing.

Idaho’s politics

Governor Brad Little, a Republican, was elected in 2022 with 61 percent of the vote. The next gubernatorial election is in 2026.

Republicans control both the House of Representatives (61 Republicans to 9 Democrats) and Senate (29 Republicans to 6 Democrats), with veto-proof majorities in both houses. Control of the governor’s mansion and each house of the legislature gives Republicans a trifecta in Idaho. The entire legislature is up for election in 2026 because both representatives and senators serve two-year terms.

Idaho’s demographics

As of July 2024, Idaho’s population was 2,001,619. That was up 27.4 percent from 2010. The state’s population growth rate was faster than than the nation’s 9.9 percent growth over the same period. The Urban Institute estimates the state’s population will increase 32.7 percent between 2010 and 2030, more than the nation’s estimated growth rate of 16 percent.

Additional resources

• The State and Local Finance Initiative’s Backgrounders explain the tax and spending issues highlighted in these briefs.
  
• The State Economic Monitor presents updated data and customized visualizations of state economic indicators.
  
• State and Local Finance Data: Exploring the Census of Governments allow users to sort, customize, and download the Census of Governments State and Local Finance series data featured in these summaries.
  
• The State Tax and Economic Review series provides quarterly reports on state tax collections and underlying economic trends in all 50 states.
  
• The Urban Institute’s State Tax Data Subscriptions provide access to up-to-date revenue data in all 50 states.