Blog
Each post starts with a question about Idaho and answers it from public data. The questions are ones no single figure settles, so a post reads several datasets together and says where the published record runs out. Every figure carries its source and the period it covers, and each post ends with a list of the datasets it draws on, linked to their catalog entries.
The metric pages elsewhere on the site hold the full series, the state and county comparisons and the tables; a post sets a few of those figures beside each other and says what each one measures.
Why do Democratic candidates in Idaho get twice as many votes as there are registered Democrats?
Democratic candidates in Idaho win about two votes per registered Democrat. Votes, registration by party and the spring switch before the closed primary.
Where does Idaho rank in education?
Where Idaho ranks in education: NAEP reading and mathematics scores against every other state, what Idaho spends per student, and what a dollar buys here.
Is Idaho one of the safest states?
Violent and property crime rates in Idaho beside every other state, how both have moved since 1979, the offenses behind them, and which counties report most.
Why is Idaho's public school enrollment growing slower than the state?
Idaho public school enrollment against the under-18 and total population, with charter enrollment inside the total and the figures NCES and SDE disagree on.
Are fewer Idaho sheep dying, or are there just fewer sheep?
Idaho sheep and lamb deaths against the January 1 inventory since 1988, the death rate per 1,000 head, and what the newest NASS survey blames the losses on.
Why did Idaho school district property taxes fall while total property taxes rose?
Idaho school district property tax levy against the statewide total since 2018, the largest levy categories in the newest year, and what the table leaves out.
Where does Idaho's electricity come from?
How much of the electricity Idaho uses is generated in the state, what Idaho Power owns in Wyoming and Nevada, and what the mix means for the price Idaho pays.