Canyon County has nearly doubled in population since 2000 — 131,000 residents then, compared with 231,000 in 2020. It is anticipated to do the same in the next 30 years, swelling to 430,000 residents by 2055.
This is just one of the many challenges the county is facing when it comes to housing and development matters. At a Friday summit at the College of Idaho, put on by the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce, local industry professionals participated in a number of panels dedicated to discussing such issues.
“People tend to move through a housing cycle. We have a lot of young adults looking for different types of housing than they may be looking at later,” said Amy Luft, communications coordinator for the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho (COMPASS). “We also see that older individuals — empty nesters, boomers — are actually looking at some of those other types of housing to support a freer lifestyle.”
The median age in Canyon County is 34, with that figure dropping to 30 for just the city of Caldwell. In a 2019 survey by COMPASS, 87% of respondents reported that they wanted a single family home in the future, but 76% said that the affordability question would play a role in their decision.