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A Growing Population
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- Since 2000, Post Falls had added 5,400 people to its population base. Its population grew 31%, while the U.S. population grew 5% and Idaho's population grew 9%.
- Since 2000, families with children under 18 have grown about 27% in the Post Falls areas.
- Since 2000, the number of people 65 years & over in the Post Falls area has grown about 38%
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High Unemployment
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- From 2000 to 2003, Kootenai County's unemployment rate remained above 6.0 percent, and considerably above the U.S. unemployment rate. Since early 2004, Kootenai County's unemployment rate has fallen to the 4.5 percent range, below the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.9 percent.
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Newcomers
with Special Needs
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- About one-third of the Post Falls population has moved to Kootenai County in the last five years. That means they have no local family support or long-term friendships to sustain them during hard times.
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Changes in Types of Households
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- In Kootenai County, there are about 920 households where grandparents are raising their grandchildren. They represent 7% of the families in Kootenai County, and their numbers are increasing fast.
- About 39 percent of the adult population in Kootenai County is not married, compared to 46 of adult population in U.S. When single individuals lose jobs, they don't have a spouse's income to rely on.
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Increase in Single-Parent Households
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- The number of single-parent households has more than doubled from 2,800 since 1990 to 6,400 today.
- One in four (25%) of Kootenai County families with children under 18 are single-parent households. Single-parent households typically have lower income and more vulnerability to unemployment than two-parent households.
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Low Income Levels
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- Kootenai County's average annual wage in 2004 was $27,502, about 30.1 percent lower than the U.S. average annual wage of $39,348.
- Kootenai County's per capita income in 2003 was $24,805, about 21.2 percent lower than the U.S. per capita income of $31,472.
- While the number of poor people in the U.S. increased 18.3 percent between 2000 and 2004, the number of poor people in Kootenai County increased 23.5 percent.
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Rising Housing Costs
Take A Toll
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- Since 2000, the average annual wage in Kootenai County has risen 18.1 percent, while housing costs have risen 48.8 percent.
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