New Boise Residents Aren’t (All) Coming From California After All

Since moving to Boise from Las Vegas, I kept hearing about how the Treasure Valley was being invaded by people from California and that life was never going to be the same! It sounded a little extreme and harsh, so I decided to do the research to see exactly where people are moving to the Boise metro from. The actual truth might surprise you.

Yes, people from the Los Angeles metro area have moved to the Treasure Valley more than any other metro. However, the margin is much closer than you would think. When you do the math, right behind families moving from California are families from a state that might surprise you: Idaho.

Here are the cities that, according to the Census Bureau, are moving to Boise the most. These statistics are from 2014 to 2018, which are the most recent, and are available for the entire country HERE.

#1 - Los Angeles, California - Yes, this is the top city for moving to Boise. The estimated amount of people who moved from L.A. during the four years was 1,768.

#2 - Portland, Oregon - 1,353 people moved from the Rose City from 2014-2018.

#3 - Twin Falls, Idaho - 1,196 moved just a couple of hours from here.

#4 - Pocatello, Idaho - 1,120 people moved from Eastern Idaho, which means that more people moved to Boise from within Idaho than they did from Los Angeles.

#5 - San Diego, California - 1,028 people moved from Southern California to Boise. Adding L.A. to San Diego movers puts Californians in front, adding to the stereotype, but we're not done counting.

#6 - Seattle, Washington - 1,001

#7 - Denver, Colorado - 902

#8 - Ogden-Provo, Utah - 898

#9 - Idaho Falls, Idaho - 885

#10 - Riverside, California - 853

Yes, more people from California are moving here than any other state. Still, a surprising number of other Idahoans have decided to leave more rural areas to come to the Treasure Valley. They don't have out-of-state plates, so they don't stand out like Californians do.