Where does Idaho rank for food access among U.S. states?

According to USDA FARA (2019), Idaho ranks #19 of 50 by population-weighted low-access share.

What share of Idaho has low food access?

25.8% of Idaho residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted) (+3.7 pts vs U.S.), per USDA FARA 2019.

How many food deserts are in Idaho?

41 census tracts in Idaho are USDA food deserts (~124K low-income low-access residents); ~0.93 tracts per county.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Idaho?

Across Idaho, 7.7% of households receive SNAP (ACS 2024) (-4.4 pts vs U.S.) - low tercile among states.

Which county in Idaho has the worst food access?

Camas County has the highest low-access share at 100.0% (~0.3% of statewide low-access residents), with 0.3% SNAP.

Signature · 7.7% SNAP (10th pct among states)

Food access in Idaho

How far Idaho residents live from a supermarket (25.8% low-access), where LILA tracts sit, and SNAP/vehicle context from USDA FARA 2019 + Census ACS 2024.

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · December 31, 2024

25.8%
low-access pop.: 41
food-desert tracts: 7.7%
on SNAP: 44
counties

USDA FARA state access plate

State ID · Idaho

LA-ELEVATED · ABOVE-NATIONAL · LILA-CLUSTER · SNAP-LIGHT · VEH-OK · BOOK-LIGHT

LA-ELEVATED 25.8% low-access
ABOVE-NATIONAL +3.7 pts vs US
LILA-CLUSTER 41 food-desert tracts
SNAP-LIGHT 7.7% SNAP
VEH-OK 3.6% no vehicle
BOOK-LIGHT 44 counties

Nearest low-access peer: Kansas (+ 0.6 pts)

Where Idaho sits by county inventory

Idaho covers 44 counties among 51 states and DC (atlas inventory, not a food-access quality ranking). Orthogonal to the low-access / SNAP charts below.

Idaho vs all states by county count

Where this state's county inventory sits among every tracked jurisdiction

44 32nd of 51 higher than 19 of 51 states

Jurisdictions, banded by county inventory

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USDA Food Access Research Atlas / Census county inventory · 2026-06-23

Mid-band statewide picture

About 404K Idaho residents (25.8%) live low-access - #19 of 50, with 41 USDA food-desert tracts.

#19
among states by low-access: 404K
low-access residents: 124K
food-desert residents: 3.6%
households, no vehicle

Population-weighted tract shares. Low access = >1 mile urban / >10 miles rural from a supermarket.

Where Idaho sits on low-access

Idaho ringed at #19 of 50 by population-weighted low-access. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

Signature read: 7.7% SNAP (10th pct among states) (-4.4 pts vs U.S. SNAP) .

Idaho is in the middle third nationally on low-access (25.8% , #19 of 50). SNAP averages 7.7% of households (lower SNAP band) and 3.6% have no vehicle , with 41 LILA tracts. County pressure peaks in Camas County at 100.0%.

Nationwide peers for Idaho's low-access or SNAP share

SNAP-led peer set first for Idaho (7.7%), with low-access neighbours deduped against it.

Similar low-access share

Nearest population-weighted low-access rates (25.8% here).

Kansas · 26.4% low-access
Louisiana · 26.4% low-access
Mississippi · 26.4% low-access
Oklahoma · 25.2% low-access

Similar SNAP participation

Nearest household SNAP rates (7.7% here), deduped against the low-access panel.

Minnesota · 7.8% SNAP
Montana · 7.9% SNAP
Nebraska · 8.1% SNAP
South Dakota · 8.4% SNAP

Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Floor county_count ≥ 5.

NM

31.7
KS

26.4
LA

26.4
MS

26.4
ID

25.8
OK

25.2
DC

4.6

Camas

100
Clark

100
Lincoln

97.4
Lewis

48
Boise

47.5
Fremont

46.6
Bonneville

38.7
Minidoka

37

All counties in Idaho

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Camas County	1K	100.0%	0.3%	4.1%	5.9%
Clark County	849	100.0%	4.3%	N/A	11.7%
Lincoln County	5K	97.4%	6.0%	1.1%	10.5%
Lewis County	4K	48.0%	9.8%	3.4%	15.3%
Boise County	8K	47.5%	6.8%	2.6%	7.7%
Fremont County	14K	46.6%	8.8%	1.8%	10.1%
Bonneville County	130K	38.7%	9.1%	3.1%	9.8%
Minidoka County	22K	37.0%	11.1%	5.6%	14.5%
Bannock County	89K	34.7%	14.6%	5.0%	12.3%
Bingham County	50K	32.3%	10.3%	4.5%	11.7%
Ada County	519K	30.4%	5.1%	3.8%	8.3%
Gem County	21K	28.3%	6.8%	2.9%	12.0%
Nez Perce County	43K	27.8%	7.3%	5.7%	12.2%
Kootenai County	182K	27.6%	6.7%	4.2%	9.0%
Owyhee County	13K	27.5%	11.8%	3.5%	12.2%
Elmore County	29K	27.2%	7.8%	4.2%	10.5%
Jefferson County	33K	26.7%	7.5%	1.3%	9.7%
Bear Lake County	7K	25.9%	4.7%	1.7%	7.0%
Adams County	5K	25.5%	4.6%	2.0%	17.9%
Lemhi County	8K	25.5%	10.0%	5.4%	12.8%
Jerome County	25K	24.6%	7.6%	3.2%	12.6%
Benewah County	10K	23.3%	10.6%	3.0%	12.9%
Custer County	4K	21.5%	4.6%	3.7%	15.8%
Madison County	55K	21.5%	9.5%	2.1%	24.5%
Butte County	3K	20.9%	10.9%	5.7%	19.3%
Cassia County	25K	20.3%	9.2%	4.6%	12.4%
Payette County	27K	19.6%	15.6%	3.7%	10.2%
Canyon County	251K	19.3%	8.6%	3.4%	10.5%
Valley County	12K	18.6%	3.1%	4.2%	11.7%
Idaho County	17K	17.8%	4.6%	3.0%	11.1%
Washington County	11K	16.9%	11.1%	4.9%	15.3%
Latah County	41K	16.7%	5.4%	4.0%	17.6%
Twin Falls County	94K	14.1%	9.6%	2.9%	11.5%
Oneida County	5K	13.5%	4.8%	1.2%	10.8%
Boundary County	13K	13.0%	10.8%	2.1%	13.6%
Power County	8K	12.6%	8.9%	3.2%	9.5%
Shoshone County	14K	9.7%	10.3%	4.5%	13.1%
Teton County	12K	8.9%	3.1%	1.4%	9.1%
Bonner County	51K	8.2%	6.4%	4.8%	11.1%
Blaine County	25K	7.9%	4.1%	1.3%	6.6%
Clearwater County	9K	7.8%	8.4%	3.6%	13.2%
Franklin County	15K	7.2%	6.1%	2.5%	7.9%
Caribou County	7K	5.4%	7.7%	2.3%	9.2%
Gooding County	16K	0.8%	8.3%	2.9%	13.0%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

Figures from USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and Census ACS 2024 5-year. Compiled 2026-06-23. Methodology · All states.

PlainFoodAccess renders this state summary directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Statewide figures for Idaho are population-weighted aggregates of county Atlas and ACS records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.