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Idaho state employees

22,045

Idaho state government employees, fiscal year 2025

+6.6% since fiscal year 2020 (20,679)

Source: Transparent Idaho, Office of the Idaho State Controller, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Statistical Section. Data period fiscal year 2025. Published . Newest release as of ; next expected by June 2027.

Full-time state employee headcount as of fiscal year end, statewide, as reported by the Office of the Idaho State Controller. Not a full-time-equivalent (FTP) count.

Comparison

The latest figure, fiscal year 2025, is the highest in the series, which begins in fiscal year 2016.

Among 50 states, Idaho ranked 39th highest in 2025 on state government employees per 1,000 residents from the U.S. Census Bureau. Hawaii was highest at 40.55 per 1,000 and Florida lowest at 7.93 per 1,000. The headline figure above is in fiscal year 2025; this ranking is in 2025.

Historical data

Idaho state employees, fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025Idaho state employees, fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025. Idaho: 19,637 in fiscal year 2016, 22,045 in fiscal year 2025.010k20k30k20202025PeopleIdaho state employees, fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025Idaho state employees, fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025. Idaho: 19,637 in fiscal year 2016, 22,045 in fiscal year 2025.010k20k30k20202025PeopleIdaho state employees, fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025Idaho state employees, fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025. Idaho: 19,637 in fiscal year 2016, 22,045 in fiscal year 2025.010k20k30k20162018202020222024People

Source: Transparent Idaho, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Statistical Section.

Data table (10 rows)
PeriodIdaho (people)
fiscal year 201619,637
fiscal year 201720,174
fiscal year 201820,201
fiscal year 201920,354
fiscal year 202020,679
fiscal year 202120,369
fiscal year 202220,165
fiscal year 202320,861
fiscal year 202421,132
fiscal year 202522,045

Compared with other states

Every state is compared on state government employees per 1,000 residents from the U.S. Census Bureau: Census Bureau full-time-equivalent state government employment for the pay period including March 12, divided by the Census Bureau's July 1 population estimate for the same year, times 1,000. The headline figure above is in fiscal year 2025; this comparison is in 2025.

Per 1,000

  1. Hawaii40.55
  2. Alaska34.48
  3. Delaware25.34
  4. Wyoming21.86
  5. Utah21.18
  6. Oregon20.43
  7. Montana19.20
  8. Washington18.67
  9. United States13.75
  10. Idaho13.08
  11. Illinois10.51
  12. Nevada9.51
  13. Florida7.93

Source: Census Bureau, State government employees per 1,000 residents (computed by Understand Idaho).

Data table (51 rows)
State2025
1. Hawaii40.55
2. Alaska34.48
3. Delaware25.34
4. North Dakota24.00
5. New Mexico23.37
6. West Virginia22.36
7. Vermont21.95
8. Wyoming21.86
9. Utah21.18
10. Kansas20.98
11. Oregon20.43
12. Arkansas20.13
13. Alabama19.27
14. Montana19.20
15. Rhode Island19.05
16. Washington18.67
17. Nebraska18.36
18. Mississippi18.18
19. Colorado17.49
20. Kentucky17.43
21. Maryland16.97
22. Iowa16.46
23. Connecticut16.26
24. Louisiana16.12
25. Massachusetts15.88
26. Oklahoma15.76
27. South Dakota15.48
28. Virginia15.48
29. Minnesota15.30
30. South Carolina15.30
31. Michigan15.24
32. Maine15.21
33. New Jersey13.77
United States13.75
34. Missouri13.62
35. Indiana13.31
36. New Hampshire13.20
37. California13.17
38. North Carolina13.13
39. Idaho13.08
40. New York12.65
41. Ohio12.19
42. Pennsylvania11.92
43. Wisconsin11.50
44. Georgia11.33
45. Tennessee11.06
46. Texas10.66
47. Arizona10.62
48. Illinois10.51
49. Nevada9.51
50. Florida7.93

State employees per 1,000 residents

13.08 per 1,000 in 2025 (estimate). Census Bureau full-time-equivalent state government employment for the pay period including March 12, divided by the Census Bureau's July 1 population estimate for the same year, times 1,000.

State employees per 1,000 residents, 2010 to 2025State employees per 1,000 residents, 2010 to 2025. State government employees per 1,000 residents: 13.97 in 2010, 13.08 in 2025.12.51313.51414.520102020Per 1,000State employees per 1,000 residents, 2010 to 2025State employees per 1,000 residents, 2010 to 2025. State government employees per 1,000 residents: 13.97 in 2010, 13.08 in 2025.12.51313.51414.52010201520202025Per 1,000State employees per 1,000 residents, 2010 to 2025State employees per 1,000 residents, 2010 to 2025. State government employees per 1,000 residents: 13.97 in 2010, 13.08 in 2025.12.51313.51414.52010201520202025Per 1,000

Source: Census Bureau, State government employees per 1,000 residents (computed by Understand Idaho).

Data table (16 rows)
PeriodState government employees per 1,000 residents (per 1,000)
201013.97
201113.75
201214.24
201314.26
201414.36
201514.28
201614.28
201714.28
201814.19
201913.93
202013.43
202112.87
202212.63
202312.70
202412.93
202513.08

Gross payroll for the March pay period

$140.0 million in 2025 (estimate). Gross full-time state government payroll, all governmental functions combined, for the one-month pay period including March 12 of the survey year, in current dollars.

Gross payroll for the March pay period, 1992 to 2025Gross payroll for the March pay period, 1992 to 2025. 2 series. State government payroll (March): $39,294,472 in 1992, $140,014,562 in 2025.$0$50M$100M$150M$200M20002020Stategovernmentpayroll(March) in2025dollarsStategovernmentpayroll(March)DollarsGross payroll for the March pay period, 1992 to 2025Gross payroll for the March pay period, 1992 to 2025. 2 series. State government payroll (March): $39,294,472 in 1992, $140,014,562 in 2025.$0$50M$100M$150M$200M200020102020Stategovernmentpayroll(March) in2025 dollarsStategovernmentpayroll(March)DollarsGross payroll for the March pay period, 1992 to 2025Gross payroll for the March pay period, 1992 to 2025. 2 series. State government payroll (March): $39,294,472 in 1992, $140,014,562 in 2025.$0$50M$100M$150M$200M200020102020State governmentpayroll (March)in 2025 dollarsState governmentpayroll (March)Dollars

Source: Census Bureau, Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll.

Data table (33 rows)
PeriodState government payroll (March) (dollars)State government payroll (March) in 2025 dollars (dollars)
1992$39,294,472$90,168,070
1993$39,880,125$88,852,091
1994$43,387,149$94,252,287
1995$44,667,450$94,359,402
1997$44,795,015$89,853,218
1998$52,023,009$102,751,188
1999$58,103,191$112,280,406
2000$54,599,942$102,079,379
2001$56,080,437$101,946,381
2002$60,127,786$107,602,667
2003$58,102,630$101,661,603
2004$62,118,102$105,868,121
2005$62,403,958$102,870,033
2006$63,952,936$102,128,969
2007$73,179,071$113,626,229
2008$77,874,381$116,445,715
2009$81,862,498$122,846,214
2010$78,377,334$115,718,137
2011$82,615,308$118,242,813
2012$84,978,098$119,158,618
2013$87,800,447$121,338,871
2014$92,050,316$125,181,446
2015$99,020,548$134,500,784
2016$106,667,162$143,082,269
2017$112,267,540$147,453,283
2018$118,958,884$152,516,577
2019$123,498,733$155,519,124
2020$127,042,903$158,032,593
2021$125,976,893$149,674,794
2022$130,904,781$144,005,323
2023$133,505,520$141,059,683
2024$130,416,588$133,848,199
2025$140,014,562$140,014,562

Source

Organization
Transparent Idaho, Office of the Idaho State Controller
Dataset
Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Statistical Section
Geography
Idaho (statewide)
Time coverage
Fiscal years 2016 to 2025
Update frequency
Annual
Published
Newest release as of
; next expected by June 2027
Original file
https://www.sco.idaho.gov/CAFRDocuments/2025%20Annual%20Comprehensive%20Financial%20Report.pdf
Methodology
https://www.sco.idaho.gov/CAFRDocuments/2025%20Annual%20Comprehensive%20Financial%20Report.pdf
License
Public domain. State of Idaho government work.
Our copy
Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Statistical Section

Caveats

  • Spending figures are actual expenditure on the modified accrual basis for governmental funds only; they exclude proprietary funds and component units, in thousands of dollars.
  • The source labels its fiscal year 2024 spending column "as restated"; fiscal year 2024 spending observations carry a note saying so.
  • Full-time headcount excludes part-time and temporary employees; the fiscal year 2024 count reflects a 2024 change of financial systems.
  • Dashboard-only figures on transparent.idaho.gov (vendor payment, agency transaction, and pay tools) are not part of this dataset; only the ACFR PDF was used.
  • Schedule 12's underlying employee counts are published only as ranges, never a single figure; percentages are stored as observations, ranges are kept in records only.

State comparison:

Organization
U.S. Census Bureau
Dataset
State government employees per 1,000 residents (computed by Understand Idaho)
Geography
Nation and every state (the District of Columbia has no state-government row in this survey; see caveats)
Time coverage
1992-2025
Update frequency
Annual
Newest release as of
; next expected by June 2027
Original file
https://api.census.gov/data/timeseries/govsemp?get=FTE,FT_PAY&for=state:*&time=2025&GOVTYPE=002&AGG_DESC=EP0005
License
Public domain. U.S. federal government work.
Our copy
State government employees per 1,000 residents (computed by Understand Idaho)

Caveats

  • Computed by Understand Idaho from Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll and Population Estimates Program; it is not a figure the publisher releases.
  • This survey, known as ASPEP, measures full-time-equivalent employment for the pay period including March 12, not the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report's June 30 full-time headcount; the two are different statistics.
  • Full-time-equivalent employment before 2019 summed full-time employees and part-time hours reported; from 2019 on, part-time hours are not collected and full-time-equivalent employment is modeled from 2014-2018 data.
  • The Census Bureau did not conduct this survey in 1996; no observation exists for that year.
  • The District of Columbia has no state-government row: this survey classifies its government entirely as local, not state.
  • Totals for 2010-2019 are Vintage 2019 estimates and 2020-2025 are Vintage 2025; a change across 2019 to 2020 includes the revision between vintages.

Where sources disagree

  • State government employment (FTE), Idaho, 2025: Office of the Idaho State Controller, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report publishes 22,045. The Census Bureau's Annual Survey of Public Employment and Payroll gives Idaho state government 26,543 full-time-equivalent employees for the pay period including March 12, 2025, versus 22,045 state employees in the fiscal year 2025 report. The survey counts every state government unit including higher education and computes full-time equivalents from hours; the report gives its own headcount on its own basis and date. Both are kept.
  • Population, Idaho, 2020: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census apportionment counts publishes 1,839,106. The Population Estimates base for April 1, 2020 is 1,839,123, 17 more than the 1,839,106 apportionment count. The 2020 to 2025 estimates build forward from that base.

Inputs: Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll and Population Estimates Program.

Gross payroll for the March pay period:

Organization
U.S. Census Bureau
Dataset
Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll
Geography
Nation and every state (the District of Columbia has no state-government row in this survey; see caveats)
Time coverage
1992-2025
Update frequency
Annual
Newest release as of
; next expected by August 2027
Original file
https://api.census.gov/data/timeseries/govsemp?get=FTE,FT_PAY&for=state:*&time=2025&GOVTYPE=002&AGG_DESC=EP0005
Methodology
https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/apes/technical-documentation/methodology/25_methodology.pdf
License
Public domain. U.S. federal government work.
Our copy
Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll

State government payroll (March) in 2025 dollars:

Organization
U.S. Census Bureau
Dataset
State government payroll (March) in 2025 dollars (computed by Understand Idaho)
Geography
Nation and every state (the District of Columbia has no state-government row in this survey; see caveats)
Time coverage
1992-2025
Update frequency
Annual
Newest release as of
; next expected by February 2027
Original file
https://api.census.gov/data/timeseries/govsemp?get=FTE,FT_PAY&for=state:*&time=2025&GOVTYPE=002&AGG_DESC=EP0005
License
Public domain. U.S. federal government work.
Our copy
State government payroll (March) in 2025 dollars (computed by Understand Idaho)

Caveats

  • Computed by Understand Idaho from Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll and Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, all items; it is not a figure the publisher releases.
  • The index is set so the average of the years 1982 through 1984 equals 100; a value is meaningful only compared with the index in another year, not against a dollar amount.
  • This is CPI-U (all urban consumers), U.S. city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted. BLS publishes no Idaho or other state-level Consumer Price Index; the nearest published sub-national series is the CPI-U for the West region, a multi-state Census region that is not Idaho and is not the series stored here.
  • The annual average for a year is not published until BLS has released all twelve months of that year, so the newest year in this dataset lags the current year by several months.
  • BLS published an annual average for 2025 based on eleven of the twelve months: October 2025 data was not collected because of that year's lapse in appropriations, the same gap documented in this site's Unemployment (LAUS) dataset.
  • Early years in this series carry one decimal place of precision and recent years carry three, exactly as BLS publishes them; this reflects a change in the Bureau's own published precision over the series' history, not a difference this site introduced.

Inputs: Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll and Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, all items.

Cite as Understand Idaho, “Idaho state employees”, https://understandidaho.com/government/state-employees/; cite the publisher above for the figures. See the data catalog.

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