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%

Hailey$5,000/mo

Typical home $912K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.29% · or rent about $1,460/mo · Housing →

Hayden$3,600/mo

Typical home $647K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.38% · or rent about $1,733/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,400 a month, about $16,900 a year, between Hailey and Hayden.

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

Hailey gets 75 more inches of snow a year

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

HaileyHayden

Snow a year102″27″

January low8°F 23°F

July high80°F 80°F

Growing season (days)77d 122d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)52nd 3rd

Outdoors & history

HaileyHayden

Trails7 mi 2 mi

Conserved land1.6%1%

National Register places12 —

Archive photos—5

Famous people born here9 —

Community

HaileyHayden

Library hours a week50 hrs 59 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 1

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.

Report cards

Hailey places higher on 13 of 20 ID lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Idaho ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools

B−HaileyBetter than 51% of districts in the state B+HaydenBetter than 73% of districts in the state

Health

AHaileyHealthier than 92% of U.S. towns A−HaydenHealthier than 80% of U.S. towns

13Hailey

7Hayden

Lists won, of 20 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most trailsOutdoors · 45 towns #9#45 Most walkableOutdoors · 63 towns #13#49 Best schoolsSchools · 63 towns #41#5 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 63 towns #35#4 Most remote workersWork · 62 towns #26#4 Lowest depressionHealth · 63 towns #1#21 Most educatedPeople · 63 towns #14#29 Most conserved landOutdoors · 58 towns #37#50

Left end = #1 in Idaho. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Hailey’s rankings →

Where they are

318 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

HaileyID HaydenID

Hailey ↔ Hayden318 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

HaileyHayden

People

Population 9,665Lowest 16,338Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +15.1%Lowest ID: +17.3% +17.1%Highest ID: +17.3%

Median age 41.3±5.3Lowest 11% above ID 42.1±3.4Highest 13% above ID

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

Kids under 18 24.3%±4Highest ID: 24.1% 22.2%±2.8Lowest ID: 24.1%

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

Age 65+ 12.8%±3.4Lowest ID: 17% 23.3%±2.8Highest ID: 17%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 39%Highest ID: 31.8% 26.8%Lowest ID: 31.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.9%±2.1Lowest ID: 6.3% 3.1%±1.1Highest ID: 6.3%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $90,760±$25kHighest 17% above ID $82,958±$14kLowest 7% above ID

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $637,800±$79kHighest 52% above ID $494,500±$36kLowest 18% above ID

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,460±$274Lowest 18% above ID $1,733±$75Highest 40% above ID

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,876Lowest 8% below ID $1,893Highest 7% below ID

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 36.2%±19.3Lowest ID: 46.9% 47.7%±10.1Highest ID: 46.9%

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

Below poverty line 7.4%Lowest ID: 10.6% 7.8%Highest ID: 10.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 71%Lowest ID: 72.1% 75%Highest ID: 72.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1994Lowest 3 yrs newer than ID 1997Highest 6 yrs newer than ID

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 19 minLowest 13% below ID 22 minHighest about the ID average

Work from home 10.3%±3.1Lowest ID: 13.3% 20.7%±5.1Highest ID: 13.3%

Work in townworking residents 30.2%Highest 14.7%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 11.3 miHighest 5.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.93Lowest 1.20Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Ketchum (23%)Coeur d'Alene (36%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in HaydenFew work in Hailey

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.6%Highest 1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 7.0 miHighest 1.9 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.8 miHighest 0.2 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 10Highest 7Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 108Highest 62.1Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #41 of 63 in ID #5 of 63 in ID

School district SYRINGA MOUNTAIN SCHOOL INC. · BLAINE COUNTY DISTRICTCOEUR D'ALENE DISTRICT

High school in town Wood River High SchoolNone in town

Students per teacherat that high school 14.4 —

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.

Hailey neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Hailey’s Town Square.

Hayden neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 5d

New to Hayden Schools

1 neighbor in Hayden can answer.

Add a town

Set another town beside Hailey and Hayden

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Towns like Hailey

+ Compare

Garden City12,654 people · $450K homes

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Star14,745 people · $564K homes

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Sandpoint9,637 people · $466K homes

+ Compare

McCall3,946 people · $677K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Idaho towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

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.

Hailey vs Hayden

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $1,400 more a month in Hailey

Hailey gets 75 more inches of snow a year

Hailey places higher on 13 of 20 ID lists

318 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

New to Hayden Schools

Set another town beside Hailey and Hayden

Towns like Hailey

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