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Federal land in Idaho

61.9%

Share of Idaho's land area owned by the federal government, 2018

Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data, Report R42346. Data period 2018. Published . Newest release as of .

Federal acreage administered by the five agencies CRS tabulates, as a percent of the state's total land area, as of September 30, 2018.

Comparison

Among 50 states and the District of Columbia, Idaho ranked 3rd highest in 2018. Nevada was highest at 80.1% and Iowa lowest at 0.3%.

Idaho was 34.8 pts above the national figure of 27.1%.

The largest category in federal acres by agency is Forest Service at 20,447,859 acres; next is Bureau of Land Management at 11,776,995 acres.

Compared with other states

Percent

  1. Nevada80.1%
  2. Utah63.1%
  3. Idaho61.9%
  4. Oregon52.3%
  5. Wyoming46.7%
  6. Montana29.0%
  7. Washington28.6%
  8. United States27.1%
  9. Kansas0.5%
  10. Connecticut0.3%
  11. Iowa0.3%

Source: CRS, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data, Report R42346.

Data table (52 rows)
State2018
1. Nevada80.1%
2. Utah63.1%
3. Idaho61.9%
4. Alaska60.9%
5. Oregon52.3%
6. Wyoming46.7%
7. California45.4%
8. Arizona38.6%
9. Colorado36.2%
10. New Mexico31.7%
11. Montana29.0%
12. Washington28.6%
United States27.1%
13. District of Columbia24.7%
14. Hawaii20.2%
15. New Hampshire14.0%
16. Florida12.9%
17. Michigan10.0%
18. Arkansas9.4%
19. Virginia9.3%
20. North Carolina7.8%
21. Vermont7.8%
22. West Virginia7.4%
23. Minnesota6.8%
24. South Dakota5.4%
25. Wisconsin5.3%
26. Georgia5.2%
27. Mississippi5.1%
28. Tennessee4.8%
29. Louisiana4.7%
30. South Carolina4.5%
31. Kentucky4.3%
32. North Dakota3.9%
33. Missouri3.8%
34. New Jersey3.6%
35. Maryland3.2%
36. Alabama2.7%
37. Delaware2.4%
38. Pennsylvania2.2%
39. Texas1.9%
40. Indiana1.7%
41. Maine1.5%
42. Oklahoma1.5%
43. Illinois1.2%
44. Massachusetts1.2%
45. Ohio1.2%
46. Nebraska1.1%
47. New York0.8%
48. Rhode Island0.7%
49. Kansas0.5%
50. Connecticut0.3%
51. Iowa0.3%

Federal acres by agency

Land administered by the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, or Department of Defense, as of September 30, 2018 (September 30, 2017 for the Department of Defense).

Share of federal acres

  • Forest Service: 62%
  • Bureau of Land Management: 36%
  • National Park Service: 1.6%
  • Fish and Wildlife Service: 0.2%
  • Department of Defense: <0.1%

Source: CRS, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data, Report R42346.

Data table (5 rows)
Agency2018 (acres)Share of total
Forest Service20,447,85962.4%
Bureau of Land Management11,776,99535.9%
National Park Service511,9631.6%
Fish and Wildlife Service49,7330.2%
Department of Defense3,0980.0%

State endowment lands

2,503,572 acres in fiscal year 2025. Total surface acreage of Idaho's state endowment trust lands, managed by the Idaho Department of Lands to generate revenue for public schools and other endowment beneficiaries, for fiscal year 2025.

Source: Idaho Lands, Department of Lands Annual Report, endowment acreage.

Source

Organization
Congressional Research Service
Dataset
Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data, Report R42346
Geography
Nation and states (50 states plus the District of Columbia)
Time coverage
2004, 2018
Update frequency
Irregular; CRS reissues this report every few years
Published
Newest release as of
Original file
https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R42346/R42346.18.pdf
Methodology
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R42346
License
U.S. federal government work; CRS products are in the public domain.
Our copy
Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data, Report R42346

Caveats

  • Total state acreage is the 2004 GSA Federal Real Property Profile figure, fourteen years before the 2018 federal acreage it is paired with to compute the land share.
  • Federal acreage covers only the five agencies CRS tabulates (Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Department of Defense); other agencies' federal land is excluded.
  • Covers the 50 states and the District of Columbia only; U.S. territories, overseas land, and submerged Outer Continental Shelf lands are excluded.
  • This is CRS report R42346's newest edition, version 18 (February 21, 2020); no later edition has been issued.

State endowment lands:

Organization
Idaho Department of Lands
Dataset
Department of Lands Annual Report, endowment acreage
Geography
Idaho
Time coverage
FY2025
Update frequency
Annual
Published
Newest release as of
; next expected by February 2027
Original file
https://www.idl.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IDL-AnnualReport-Spreads-12242025.pdf
Methodology
https://www.idl.idaho.gov/trust-land-management/understanding-endowment-land/
License
Idaho state government publication.
Our copy
Department of Lands Annual Report, endowment acreage

Caveats

  • The figure covers fiscal year 2025, July 2024 through June 2025.
  • Mineral acreage (3,413,671 acres) is reported separately and is not included in this surface-acreage figure.

Cite as Understand Idaho, “Federal land in Idaho”, https://understandidaho.com/land/public-lands/; cite the publisher above for the figures. See the data catalog.

This page was last updated .