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Power County Information and Statistics

County Highlights

  • Power County’s total population in 2006 was 7,914.
  • The 2003 self-employment rate was 21.0% compared to 22.8% for Idaho and 17.9% for the US.
  • In 2003, the median household income was $34,961.
  • Power County’s average annual unemployment rate was 6.1% in 2004.
  • Hispanic residents made up 25.6% of the population in 2006, compared to 9.5% in Idaho.

 

Population Change

Power County gained 376 residents between 2003 and 2006.

Population grew by 5 percent between 2000 and 2006, compared to an increase of 13.3 percent in the state as a whole.

population_chart

population_change_chart

Power County was the 21st fastest growing county out of Idaho’s 44 counties.

Since 1970, Power County has gained 3,050 residents.

The net migration rate was below the state average in 2006 and the natural change rate was similar to the state average.

net_migration_chart

 

Employment

  • The average annual unemployment rate in 2006 was 4.7%, compared to 3.4% for Idaho and 5.5% for the US. Power County ranked 9th—from highest to lowest—out of Idaho’s 44 counties.
  • The largest number of jobs in 2003 were provided by manufacturing, farming and government.
  • The number of jobs was 4,364 in 2005, compared to 3,948 in 1969—a 14% increase.

Employment by Industry

 

1969

1979

1989

2000

Total Employment

3,948

4,651

4,524

5,477

Farm

26.7%

17.6%

15.3%

18.2%

Ag Services, Forestry, Fishing & Other

1.2%

2.7%

2.4%

NA

Mining

NA

NA

NA

NA

Construction

1.7%

2.0%

1.7%

6.1%

Manufacturing

43.2%

45.2%

41.1%

31.4%

Transportation &
Public Utilities

2.8%

4.0%

4.8%

6.4%

Wholesale & Retail Trade

NA

NA

NA

10.7%

Finance, insurance & real estate

1.4%

1.8%

1.9%

NA

Services

4.9%

6.0%

7.5%

9.8%

Government

9.2%

10.4%

12.6%

13.3%

  • In 2005 the self-employment rate was 22.8%, compared to 23.3% for Idaho and 17.9% for the US.
  • The average wage per job in 2005 (adjusted for inflation) was $30,663, down from $31,497 a decade earlier. The average was $30,311 in Idaho and $40,113 in the US.

 wage_per_job_chart

 

Social Trends

Educational Attainment

  • In 2000, 25.3% of the population 25 years and older had no high school diploma, compared to 15.3% in Idaho and 19.6% in the US.
  • In 2000, 14.3% had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 21.7% in Idaho and 24.4% in the US.

Poverty

  • Power County’s overall poverty rate was 14.4% in 2004, 16.1% in 1999 and 13.2% in 1989.
  • Statewide, the overall poverty rate in 2004 was 11.5% and the US rate was 12.5%.
  • Power County’s child poverty rate (for people under 18) was 19.7% in 2004, 20.1% in 1999, and 18.1% in 1989.
  • The poverty rate for people 65 and over was 12.7 percent in 1999 and 9.3 percent in 1989.

Power County Youth

  • The teen birth rate in 2005 was 13 per 1,000, compared to 16 per 1,000 in Idaho and 22 per 1,000 in the US.
  • Teens who were not working, looking for work, and not in school made up 6.7% of all youth age 16-19 in 2000, compared to 7.8% in Idaho and 8.9% in the US.

Crime and Law Enforcement

  • The total number of crimes reported in 2006 was 176 per 10,000 population, compared to 267 in Idaho and 412 in the US.
  • The number of sworn police officers per 1,000 population was 2.1, compared to 2.0 in Idaho and 2.3 in the US in 2006.

 

Housing

The median value of owner-occupied housing (adjusted for inflation) was $100,497 in 2000, compared to $120,570 in Idaho and $135,655 in the US.

The median value increased by 2.1% from 1980 to 2000, compared to a 10.8% increase in Idaho and a 21.0% increase in the US.

The median value ranked 25th – from highest to lowest – in 2000 out of Idaho’s 44 counties.

median_val_owner_occ_home-chart

The number of housing units increased by 6.1% from 200 to 2006, compared to an increase of 9.0% in Idaho.

The county’s per capita income in 2003 (adjusted for inflation) was $21,126, below both the state average of $27,494 and the national average of $33,406.

Per capita income decreased 2.8% in the last 10 years compared to increases of 12.4% in Idaho and 15.8% in the US.

The median household income (adjusted for inflation) was $34,961 in 2003 compared to $42,308 in Idaho and $45,980 in the US.

 

Hispanic Population

  • The proportion of Hispanic residents grew from 7.3% in 1980, to 13.2% in 1990, to 23.9% in 2004.

 hispanic_population_chart

 

Age Structure

29.9% of Power County’s population was under 18 in 2004, in contrast to 26.7% in Idaho and 25.0% in the US.

In 2004, 59.1% of the population was 18 to 64 years old , compared to 61.9% in Idaho and 62.7% in the US.

Power County’s median age in 2000 was 31.6 compared to 33.2 in Idaho and 35.3 in the US.

 

Note: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of inflation. Using the CPI to put dollar values in “real” terms makes it easier to see “inflation-free” change over time. Our base year is 2005, which means all dollar values are in terms of 2005 dollars. For more information, see http:www.bls.gov.cpi/home.html.

 

Sources

NWAF Indicators Website – www.indicators.nwaf.org

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis – www.bea.gov

U.S. Census Bureau – www.census.gov

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – www.bls.gov

FBI Uniform Crime Reports – www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

Idaho Dept of Health & Welfare – www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov

 

Contact

Power County Extension Office, 208-226-7621, power@uidaho.edu