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Place dossier plate
SheetID-MERIDIAN-ID · Meridian, ID 124,865 pop · income 77th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Meridian
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Meridian on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Allentown · lowest
53,403
Allentown · lowest
53,403 median HH income
39.7% of the leader · rank #1
St. Paul Park · near
98,670
St. Paul Park · near
98,670 median HH income
73.4% of the leader · rank #2
Lexington · near
98,676
Lexington · near
98,676 median HH income
73.4% of the leader · rank #3
Meridian · this city
98,686
Meridian · this city
98,686 median HH income
73.4% of the leader · rank #4
Lake Sarasota · near
98,689
Lake Sarasota · near
98,689 median HH income
73.4% of the leader · rank #5
Marshall · near
98,702
Marshall · near
98,702 median HH income
73.5% of the leader · rank #6
Thousand Oaks · highest
134,367
Thousand Oaks · highest
134,367 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Meridian on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 124,865.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Meridian - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Meridian places in the 77th percentile for household income and the 76th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
77th
percentile, household income
84th
percentile, home value
51st
percentile, median rent
76th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Meridian, ID
Idaho's Meridian is a mid-sized U.S. city, with 124,865 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in Meridian report a median income of $98,686 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 4.5%. Meridian's housing stock carries a median value of $485,000, and the median resident age is 37.4 years. About 44.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 67.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 1,551 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 49% from five years earlier. Meridian reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 718.2 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Idaho run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Idaho at 95.5 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,173 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $170 across Idaho, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Natural-hazard exposure scores 38.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Meridian's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to population change to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to reported crime to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Meridian, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Meridian?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Is Meridian growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +23,482 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +19.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1,551 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Which cities make useful reference points for Meridian?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Idaho, the closest population matches are Nampa (106,289 residents, $72,122 income); Idaho Falls (66,672 residents, $69,630 income); Caldwell (63,465 residents, $66,663 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Vallejo, CA (124,637 residents); Palm Bay, FL (125,273 residents); Allentown, PA (125,320 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
What does the journey to work look like in Meridian?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 73.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Meridian?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 718.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 69% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
718.2
Violent rate
146.8
Property rate
571.4
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 46 public schools within the city match. 44.4% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
4.5%
Bachelor's degree+
44.4%
Matched public schools
46
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share B+
44.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income B+
$98,686
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate B-
4.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living C+
95.5 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime C
147 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Meridian profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 79/100 (B+) · 44.4%
Household income: 76/100 (B+) · $98,686
Poverty rate: 69/100 (B-) · 4.5%
Cost of living: 61/100 (C+) · 95.5 index
Violent crime: 59/100 (C) · 147 /100k
Where Meridian sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Meridian's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Meridian highlighted among 13 peers.Read the chart values
Meridian, ID (this city): home $485,000, crime 718/100k
Vallejo, CA : home $557,500, crime 4,730/100k
Palm Bay, FL : home $248,000, crime 1,365/100k
Allentown, PA : home $188,900, crime 1,841/100k
Round Rock, TX : home $383,700, crime 2,071/100k
Concord, CA : home $755,900, crime 3,371/100k
Thousand Oaks, CA : home $951,200, crime 1,123/100k
Nampa, ID : home $332,500, crime 1,095/100k
Idaho Falls, ID : home $298,600, crime 1,566/100k
Caldwell, ID : home $322,100, crime 1,430/100k
Pocatello, ID : home $240,600, crime 1,928/100k
Coeur d'Alene, ID : home $451,600, crime 1,197/100k
Twin Falls, ID : home $279,400, crime 1,543/100k
How does Meridian compare to other US cities?
Here's how Meridian stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income77% higher than other cities
Home value84% pricier than other cities
Median rent51% pricier than other cities
Safety76% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Idaho alone, Meridian ranks #20 of 53 Idaho cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Meridian against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Idaho only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Idaho-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Meridian near the bottom of Idaho's cities
Among the 215 Idaho cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Meridian ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Meridian only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#11 of 206
95th percentile in Idaho
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 215
0th percentile in Idaho
Median Home Value
#18 of 204
91st percentile in Idaho
Poverty Rate
#149 of 215
29th percentile in Idaho
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#17 of 215
92nd percentile in Idaho
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Idaho only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
77th percentile nationally for median household income · 76th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Meridian's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Meridian's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Meridian's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$485,00016th percentilemore affordable than 16% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Meridian's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,746 of 15,516
More affordable than 18% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#445 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 4.9×, Meridian sits in the moderate band:
national rank #12,746 of 15,516 and #445 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$98,686Meridian, ID median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Meridian, ID median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Meridian, ID.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)44.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)67.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
124,865
Median Income
$98,686
Median Home Value
$485,000
Median Age
37.4
Poverty Rate
4.5%
Labor force participation
67.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
44.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
718.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
146.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
571.4
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
46
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Meridian's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
119,506 residents
2021
125,896 residents
2022
130,097 residents
2023
135,242 residents
2024
139,593 residents
2025
142,988 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
1,551
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1,385
detached homes
Multifamily
166
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
12.4
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
3,024
2,163
861
$602.2M
2020
2,530
1,911
619
$540.5M
2021
2,735
1,847
888
$616.7M
2022
3,071
1,371
1,700
$599.4M
2023
2,336
1,496
840
$462.4M
2024
1,551
1,385
166
$330.7M
Permit volume decreased 49% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
73.7%
Carpool
6.3%
Public Transit
0.1%
Walk
1.0%
Work from Home
17.2%
Other
1.7%
Based on 63,801 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Idaho statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $170
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Idaho at $170 (electricity about $80 , water and sewer about $40 ).
These are Idaho statewide averages, not a meter reading for Meridian. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Idaho's BEA cost-of-living index is 95.5 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Meridian is $1,173/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Idaho statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 38.5 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Idaho statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Meridian sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Meridian compares to similar-size Idaho cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.