Idaho · off-grid scores, county by county · 2026

Which Idaho counties score best for off-grid living?

Of the 44 Idaho counties we have scored, Gooding County scores highest at 81 and Butte County lowest at 59. Idaho ranks 40th of 50 overall, at 72 out of 100 (Significant challenges). Buildability separates its counties most: 0 to 10 out of 10.

Updated 2026-09-27 · 44 counties · 251 spots of private rural land scored

Significant challengesIdaho ranks 40th of 50, 72 out of 100, in the Best States ranking: the typical parcel on the state's private rural land, with each scored spot weighted by the land it stands for. On a fresh draw of counties it would rank between #39 and #44. City counties with little private rural land have no page, and any parcel can be scored, free, below.

Every scored county in Idaho, best score first

Find a county44 counties


Gooding → 22 people / sq mi	81	14	20	14	15	8	10
Boundary → 11 people / sq mi	79	17	20	10	15	8	9
Canyon → 439 people / sq mi	79	14	20	13	15	8	9
Valley → 3 people / sq mi	79	17	20	12	13	8	9
Bonneville → 70 people / sq mi	78	14	20	12	15	7	10
Jerome → 43 people / sq mi	78	10	20	14	15	9	10
Bingham → 24 people / sq mi	77	14	20	13	14	6	10
Madison → 116 people / sq mi	77	14	20	11	15	7	10
Teton → 28 people / sq mi	77	15	20	11	14	7	10
Washington → 8 people / sq mi	77	15	20	12	14	9	7
Bear Lake → 7 people / sq mi	76	15	19	13	13	6	10
Bonner → 30 people / sq mi	76	17	20	9	14	9	7
Kootenai → 150 people / sq mi	76	16	20	9	14	10	7
Ada → 499 people / sq mi	75	13	20	13	14	7	8
Idaho → 2 people / sq mi	75	15	19	11	15	8	7
Latah → 38 people / sq mi	75	13	20	10	15	10	7
Oneida → 4 people / sq mi	75	14	20	13	13	6	9
Camas → 1 people / sq mi	74	13	19	13	15	4	10
Franklin → 23 people / sq mi	74	14	20	11	14	7	8
Gem → 38 people / sq mi	74	15	20	12	12	8	7
Minidoka → 30 people / sq mi	74	12	20	13	15	4	10
Payette → 67 people / sq mi	74	13	20	13	14	7	7
Benewah → 13 people / sq mi	73	15	19	10	14	10	5
Caribou → 4 people / sq mi	73	14	19	12	14	6	8
Custer → under 1 person / sq mi	73	13	19	13	13	5	10
Nez Perce → 51 people / sq mi	73	14	20	10	15	9	5
Power → 6 people / sq mi	73	13	17	13	15	6	9
Elmore → 10 people / sq mi	72	9	19	14	15	5	10
Lemhi → 2 people / sq mi	72	14	16	12	14	6	10
Bannock → 81 people / sq mi	71	13	18	13	13	6	8
Fremont → 8 people / sq mi	71	13	19	11	14	7	7
Lewis → 8 people / sq mi	71	14	19	10	14	8	6
Blaine → 10 people / sq mi	70	14	17	13	15	5	6
Jefferson → 31 people / sq mi	70	10	20	12	15	3	10
Twin Falls → 50 people / sq mi	70	9	19	14	14	5	9
Clark → under 1 person / sq mi	69	10	18	11	14	6	10
Lincoln → 5 people / sq mi	69	10	20	14	15	3	7
Clearwater → 4 people / sq mi	68	16	19	10	12	9	2
Boise → 5 people / sq mi	67	15	19	10	12	7	4
Cassia → 10 people / sq mi	67	9	19	14	14	4	7
Owyhee → 2 people / sq mi	67	8	16	13	15	6	9
Adams → 4 people / sq mi	65	14	18	9	12	8	4
Shoshone → 5 people / sq mi	64	17	18	10	10	9	0
Butte → 1 people / sq mi	59	3	17	13	14	2	10

Score is out of 100: Water 25, Legal 20, Solar 15, Hazard 15, Food 15, Buildability 10. Green cells score 80% or better of their maximum; amber cells under 70%.

Where the good land is

7% of Idaho's private rural land scores Good with caveats or better (80 or more). The strongest counties are Gooding, Boundary and Canyon. The weakest are Butte, Shoshone and Adams. Where the land falls short, it is most often on growing food (season, soil and water for crops) and water (rain, wells and salty or weak wells).

What separates them

Buildability: Gooding County scores 10 of 10, Shoshone County 0. Slope, the septic the ground needs, footings, and the county's land price. A steep or soggy lot that fails a septic test is the dealbreaker photos hide.
Water: Boundary County scores 17 of 25, Butte County 3. Drinking, system, and irrigation water, the #1 reason off-grid and homestead plans collapse. A low score means a deep, costly well or hauled water.
Food: Kootenai County scores 10 of 15, Butte County 2. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals.
Solar: Gooding County scores 14 of 15, Adams County 9. Year-round solar potential, including the darkest month, and how much energy it takes to heat and cool a house there. Matters most if you're fully off-grid.
Hazard: Gooding County scores 15 of 15, Shoshone County 10. Flood, wildfire, seismic, and severe-weather exposure: the risks that raise insurance and build cost or strand a parcel.
Legal: Gooding County scores 20 of 20, Owyhee County 16. Whether you can reach the land and live on it: road access, distance to emergency care, internet and cell, and how built up the area is, which decides how many lot-size, livestock, and zoning rules you will meet.

The state's soft spot

Food is Idaho's weakest dimension, at 6 of 15 for the state as a whole. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals. Getting a parcel here off-grid runs $33k to $128k by our estimates across these counties, before the house. The full Idaho row in the Best States ranking has the state-wide spread and how the popular off-grid guides rank it.

Check an Idaho parcel, or plan the one you own

Get a free 0-100 off-grid score.

Before you buy in Idaho

The scores read the physical land. Whether you may legally live on it is a separate question, and it changes at the county line: Is it legal to live off-grid in Idaho? covers zoning, building code, septic, and wells for the state, with the counties that opt out. For the reason water carries a quarter of the score, how you get water on off-grid land is the read. And the five-point check is the order to do it in.

Significant challengesIdaho: 72 of 100, 40th of 50. A good state is not a good parcel. Score the one you are looking at, free, in about a minute.

Score a parcel free →