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%

Sandpoint$3,620/mo

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

Hailey$5,000/mo

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

SandpointHailey

Snow a year62″102″

January low23°F 8°F

July high82°F 80°F

Growing season (days)141d 77d

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

Outdoors & history

SandpointHailey

Trails1 mi 7 mi

Conserved land3.7%1.6%

Settled1898 —

National Register places9 12

Famous people born here—9

Community

SandpointHailey

Library hours a week52 hrs 50 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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

9Sandpoint

11Hailey

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

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

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

Where they are

347 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

SandpointID HaileyID

Sandpoint ↔ Hailey347 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

SandpointHailey

People

Population 9,637Lowest 9,665Highest

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

Median age 41.5±2.1Highest 11% above ID 41.3±5.3Lowest 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 22%±3.5Lowest ID: 24.1% 24.3%±4Highest 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+ 18.2%±2.7Highest ID: 17% 12.8%±3.4Lowest 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+ 36.6%Lowest ID: 31.8% 39%Highest ID: 31.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.1%±1.8Highest ID: 6.3% 2.9%±2.1Lowest 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 $72,289±$9kLowest 7% below ID $90,760±$25kHighest 17% above 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 $465,600±$22kLowest 11% above ID $637,800±$79kHighest 52% above ID

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

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,347Highest 15% above ID $1,876Lowest 8% below ID

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 52.1%±11.7Highest ID: 46.9% 36.2%±19.3Lowest 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 14.6%Highest ID: 10.6% 7.4%Lowest ID: 10.6%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

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

Work in townworking residents 43.7%Highest 30.2%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 2.3 miLowest 11.3 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in HaileyFew work in Sandpoint

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.7%Highest 1.6%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.9 miLowest 7.0 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 1.8 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 8Lowest 10Highest

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

Schools

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

School district LAKE PEND OREILLE SCHOOL DISTRICTSYRINGA MOUNTAIN SCHOOL INC. · BLAINE COUNTY DISTRICT

High school in town Sandpoint High SchoolWood River High School

Students per teacherat that high school 17.0Highest 14.4Lowest

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.

Sandpoint neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sandpoint’s Town Square.

Hailey neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Hailey’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Sandpoint and Hailey

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

Bordering Sandpoint

+ Compare

Ponderay1,534 people · $437K homes

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Dover792 people · $719K homes

Towns like Sandpoint

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Garden City12,654 people · $450K homes

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McCall3,946 people · $677K homes

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Hayden16,338 people · $495K homes

+ Compare

Chubbuck16,126 people · $342K 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.

Sandpoint vs Hailey

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

Set another town beside Sandpoint and Hailey

Bordering Sandpoint

Towns like Sandpoint

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