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 →

Sandpoint$3,620/mo

Typical home $640K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.50% · or rent about $1,125/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,380 a month, about $16,600 a year, between Hailey and Sandpoint.

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 40 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

HaileySandpoint

Snow a year102″62″

January low8°F 23°F

July high80°F 82°F

Growing season (days)77d 141d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)52nd 56th

Outdoors & history

HaileySandpoint

Trails7 mi 1 mi

Conserved land1.6%3.7%

Settled—1898

National Register places12 9

Famous people born here9 —

Community

HaileySandpoint

Library hours a week50 hrs 52 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.

Report cards

Hailey places higher on 11 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.

Safety

–HaileyNot graded BSandpointSafer than 63% of U.S. towns

Schools

B−HaileyBetter than 51% of districts in the state B+SandpointBetter than 72% of districts in the state

Health

AHaileyHealthier than 92% of U.S. towns B+SandpointHealthier than 73% of U.S. towns

11Hailey

9Sandpoint

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

Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 63 towns #24#56 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 63 towns #35#7 Shortest commuteGetting around · 63 towns #28#6 Highest incomeIncome · 63 towns #9#30 Cheapest rentCost of living · 62 towns #53#33 HealthiestHealth · 63 towns #4#24 Most conserved landOutdoors · 58 towns #37#19 Lowest property taxCost of living · 62 towns #32#51

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

Where they are

347 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

HaileyID SandpointID

Hailey ↔ Sandpoint347 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

HaileySandpoint

People

Population 9,665Highest 9,637Lowest

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

Median age 41.3±5.3Lowest 11% above ID 41.5±2.1Highest 11% above ID

Sandpoint 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%±3.5Lowest ID: 24.1%

Hailey and Sandpoint 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% 18.2%±2.7Highest ID: 17%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 39%Highest ID: 31.8% 36.6%Lowest ID: 31.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.9%±2.1Lowest ID: 6.3% 4.1%±1.8Highest ID: 6.3%

Sandpoint 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 $72,289±$9kLowest 7% below ID

Hailey and Sandpoint 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 $465,600±$22kLowest 11% above ID

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,460±$274Highest 18% above ID $1,125±$139Lowest 9% below ID

Hailey and Sandpoint 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 $2,347Highest 15% above ID

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 36.2%±19.3Lowest ID: 46.9% 52.1%±11.7Highest ID: 46.9%

Sandpoint 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% 14.6%Highest ID: 10.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 71%Highest ID: 72.1% 57.5%Lowest ID: 72.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1994Highest 3 yrs newer than ID 1985Lowest 6 yrs older than ID

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 19 minHighest 13% below ID 14 minLowest 35% below ID

Work from home 10.3%±3.1 ID: 13.3% 10.3%±2.2 ID: 13.3%

Work in townworking residents 30.2%Lowest 43.7%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 11.3 miHighest 2.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.93Lowest 1.93Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Ketchum (23%)Ponderay (9%)

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

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.6%Lowest 3.7%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 7.0 miHighest 0.9 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.8 miHighest 0.2 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 10Highest 8Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 108Highest 94.2Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #41 of 63 in ID #24 of 63 in ID

School district SYRINGA MOUNTAIN SCHOOL INC. · BLAINE COUNTY DISTRICTLAKE PEND OREILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT

High school in town Wood River High SchoolSandpoint High School

Students per teacherat that high school 14.4Lowest 17.0Highest

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.

Sandpoint neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sandpoint’s Town Square.

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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 Sandpoint

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $1,380 more a month in Hailey

Hailey gets 40 more inches of snow a year

Hailey places higher on 11 of 20 ID lists

347 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

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Towns like Hailey

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