What’s Idaho’s Biggest ‘Boomtown’? Nearly a 50 Percent Growth in 8 Years!

It’s interesting that some people can’t identify Idaho on a map or often confuse it with other states like Iowa and Ohio. I grew up in Utah and never dreamed (maybe I had a few nightmares) that I would live in Idaho and actually love it. But, despite the backcountry stigma and general misunderstanding of Idaho, people continue to move here in masses.

In fact, one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation is in Southern Idaho.

Population Growth in Meridian is One of the Fastest in the Nation

In some states, the biggest boomtowns have only seen growth in the single digits over the last 8 years and many of those were increases of less than 5 percent. That is definitely not the case for Idaho. Meridian is just a few minutes outside of Boise and has seen a growth of nearly 50 percent over the last 8 years. According to the numbers at GOBankingRates, the population in Meridian has jumped 47.61 percent in the previous 8 years. Looking even further back, you can see that the growth in Meridian has been pretty constant since 2020. The population then was just under 35,000 and is now over 146,000 based on the US Census estimates.

Meridian is known for a lot of great things, making it so appealing to those making the move. Meridian is just minutes away from Boise and Nampa. Meridian is also home to some of the greatest places for fun in the state including Roaring Springs Waterpark (you can see pictures of the slides and recent expansion in the gallery below), Top Golf, and the Meridian Speedway.

Fastest Growing Boomtowns in Utah, Nevada, and Colorado

The growth in Meridian is huge, but some cities in states that neighbor Idaho have seen much larger growth. Herriman, Utah saw a population increase of 125 percent in the last 8 years. Enterprise, Nevada (we had to look up where that was) went up 85 percent and Windsor, Colorado grew 66 percent.