A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Downey$1,930/mo

Typical home $338K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.56% · or rent about $865/mo · Housing →

Potlatch$1,770/mo

Typical home $310K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.55% · Housing →

The difference: $160 a month, about $1,900 a year, between Downey and Potlatch.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

DowneyPotlatch

Snow a year45″41″

January low15°F 26°F

July high87°F 82°F

Growing season (days)121d 126d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)82nd 51st

Outdoors & history

DowneyPotlatch

Settled—1905

National Register places—8

Archive photos3 —

Famous people born here—4

Community

DowneyPotlatch

Library hours a week24 hrs 22 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

389 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

DowneyID PotlatchID

Downey ↔ Potlatch389 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Idaho average

DowneyPotlatch

People

Population 803Lowest 922Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -8.6%Lowest ID: +17.3% -5.1%Highest ID: +17.3%

Median age 36.5±5.6Highest about the ID average 36.3±7.7Lowest about the ID average

Downey and Potlatch are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 29.6%±5.5Highest ID: 24.1% 25.8%±5.9Lowest ID: 24.1%

Downey and Potlatch are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 22%±2.9Highest ID: 17% 11.8%±4.4Lowest ID: 17%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 23.3%Lowest ID: 31.8% 25.4%Highest ID: 31.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.1%±1.2Lowest ID: 6.3% 3.9%±3.1Highest ID: 6.3%

Potlatch and Downey are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $56,667±$21kLowest 27% below ID $76,607±$19kHighest about the ID average

Potlatch and Downey are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $173,800±$49kLowest 58% below ID $244,200±$25kHighest 42% below ID

Potlatch and Downey are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $865±$36 30% below ID —

Property taxmedian, yearly $973Lowest 52% below ID $1,342Highest 34% below ID

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 59.1%±47.4Highest ID: 46.9% 39.2%±41.2Lowest ID: 46.9%

Downey and Potlatch are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 16.2%Highest ID: 10.6% 9.4%Lowest ID: 10.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 85.4%Lowest ID: 72.1% 86.3%Highest ID: 72.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1945Highest 46 yrs older than ID 1938Lowest 53 yrs older than ID

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 26 minLowest 20% above ID 28 minHighest 29% above ID

Work from home 6.7%±4.7Highest ID: 13.3% 2.6%±3Lowest ID: 13.3%

Downey and Potlatch are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 2.9%Lowest 7.9%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 34.3 miHighest 18.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.58Lowest 0.61Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Pocatello (19%)Moscow (22%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in PotlatchFew work in Downey

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 0.1 miLowest 0.5 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miLowest 1.0 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 69.3Lowest 117Highest

Schools

School district MARSH VALLEY JOINT DISTRICTPOTLATCH DISTRICT

High school in town None in townPotlatch Jr./Sr. High School

Students per teacherat that high school — 14.5

Idaho average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Downey neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Downey’s Town Square.

Potlatch neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Potlatch’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Downey

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McCammon909 people · $296K homes

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Nezperce522 people · $189K homes

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Teton877 people · $249K homes

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Oakley830 people · $234K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Downey vs Potlatch

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

Grades and rankings, side by side

A typical home costs $160 more a month in Downey

What daily life feels like in each

389 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Downey and Potlatch

Towns like Downey

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