Idaho Just Ranked No. 3 for Wage Growth. Here Is Where the Money Moved
Average pay and employment rose together, with gains reaching every Idaho metro and labor-market region.
Idaho's statewide average hourly pay reached $29.41 in 2025, a 4.7 percent increase that placed the state third nationally for growth in mean wages. Only Kentucky and Montana posted larger percentage gains, according to newly released federal occupational wage data compiled by the Idaho Department of Labor.
The same dataset estimated 857,440 jobs across Idaho, 12,530 more than a year earlier. That gives Gov. Brad Little a concrete economic result to point to: employers added positions while the state's major wage measures also moved higher. For families, workers and small businesses, the pairing matters more than either number would by itself.
The median gives the statewide headline a second layer
The average wage works out to an annual figure of $61,170 for a full-time schedule. But the median, the point at which half of wages fall above and half below, offers another useful view of a typical paycheck. Idaho's median hourly wage rose from $22.34 in 2024 to $23.06 in 2025, a 3.2 percent increase. The 2025 median annual figure was $47,970.
Both measures moving upward is important. A mean can be lifted by growth in highly paid occupations, while a median is less sensitive to the top of the pay scale. The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey is also a statewide snapshot across roughly 830 occupations at nonfarm employers. It does not mean every Idaho employee received the same 4.7 percent raise. It shows that the state's overall mix of jobs and wages shifted higher.
Wage gains reached every Idaho labor market
The increase was not limited to Boise. All seven metropolitan statistical areas in the state recorded gains in both average and median wages. Every Idaho labor-market region did too.
Southwestern Idaho remained the highest-paying region, with an average of $30.76 an hour and a median of $23.53. The Boise City metro posted an average of $31.02 and a median of $23.60. North central Idaho's median reached $23.08, close behind the southwest regional figure.
The strongest dollar gains appeared in different corners of the state. Coeur d'Alene had the largest increase in average pay among Idaho metros, rising $1.68 an hour. Pocatello posted the largest increase in median pay, up 95 cents. That geographic spread makes the story broader than a capital-city boom.
Idaho added jobs while the pay measures climbed
Statewide employment rose 1.5 percent from 844,910 in 2024. The Lewiston metro led Idaho's metropolitan areas with 2.8 percent employment growth, while the north central labor-market region led the regional map at 2.3 percent. Every metro and labor-market region recorded employment growth.
The occupation data also show how much variety sits beneath one statewide average. Fast food and counter workers formed Idaho's largest occupational group at 25,810 jobs, with a median wage of $13.91 an hour. General and operations managers followed at 24,880 jobs, with a median of $38.65.
That gap is one reason schools, workforce programs and employers matter to the next phase of growth. A strong labor market must create entry points while helping Idahoans move into work that can support a family, buy a home and build long-term stability.
Little ties the gain to Idaho's business climate
Little described rising wages as a sign of a healthy state economy and said Idaho's approach has helped businesses thrive while workers earn more. The data give that argument substance: Idaho ranked third for wage growth, both the average and median increased, and employment expanded across every measured part of the state.
The survey alone does not assign credit for each dollar of the increase. It does establish a clear benchmark for accountability. State leaders, schools and employers now have to preserve the conditions that reward hiring, connect more Idahoans with higher-paying careers and keep growth broad enough to reach communities outside the fastest-growing metros.
The headline is a national ranking. The more consequential result is that pay and employment rose together across Idaho, giving families and local businesses a stronger base for what comes next.