Unemployment rate
3.1%
-0.2 pp vs Aug
-0.1 pp vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED
Boise metro economy by the numbers
The Boise City metropolitan area covers Ada, Canyon, Gem, Boise and Owyhee counties: Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, Eagle, Kuna and Star. These are the official monthly and quarterly numbers for the metro's jobs, housing, wages and prices, each one dated and linked to its source, updated the day the agency publishes.
Unemployment rate
3.1%
Sep 2026 · -0.1 pp from a year earlier
Next metro jobs releaseDec 2, 202610:00 ETFull calendar →
Unemployment
3.1%
Sep 2026 · -0.1 pp y/y
Payrolls y/y
0.5%
Sep 2026 · -1.5 pp y/y
House prices y/y
3.7%
Q2 2026 · +1.2 pp y/y
Listing price
$609,925
Sep 2026 · +1.8% y/y
Weekly wages
$1,381
Q1 2026 · +7.3% y/y
CPI y/y
3.8%
Sep 2026 · +0.5 pp y/y
Jobs
Civilian labor force
452,008
-0.5% vs Aug
-1.1% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED
Nonfarm payroll employment
416.8K
-0.1% vs Aug
+0.5% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED
Payroll employment, year over year
0.5%
-0.1 pp vs Aug
-1.5 pp vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs
Housing
Housing units authorized by building permits
640
-38.1% vs Aug
-13.2% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (metro), via FRED
FHFA house price index (all transactions)
514.9
+1.3% vs Q1
+3.6% vs Q2 2025
Q2 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED
House prices, year over year
3.7%
+1.1 pp vs Q1
+1.2 pp vs Q2 2025
Q2 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs
Median listing price
$609,925
-0.8% vs Aug
+1.8% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED
Active listings
2,853
-0.9% vs Aug
-8.2% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED
Median days on market
47
unchanged vs Aug
-7.8% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED
Wages
Average weekly wages, all covered employment
$1,381
+0.6% vs Q4
+7.3% vs Q1 2025
Q1 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (metro), via FRED
Prices
Consumer prices, West region, year over year
3.8%
+0.3 pp vs Aug
+0.5 pp vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Consumer Price Index, West region, all items, via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs
Unemployment by county
| County | Rate | Year ago | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ada County | 3.1% | 3.2% | -0.1 pp |
| Canyon County | 3.2% | 3.4% | -0.2 pp |
| Gem County | 3.1% | 3.4% | -0.3 pp |
| Boise County | 3.3% | 3.6% | -0.3 pp |
| Owyhee County | 2.9% | 3.3% | -0.4 pp |
Sep 2026, not seasonally adjusted. Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED.
Why Boise
Boise has grown faster than almost any metro its size since 2015, and the questions that growth raises (can wages keep up with housing, is the building boom cooling, where is unemployment heading) are answered in these series before they are answered anywhere else. Idaho has no metro-level CPI; the West region index is the closest official measure of prices.
Questions readers ask
- What is the unemployment rate in Boise?
- The Boise metro unemployment rate is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Local Area Unemployment Statistics figure for the Boise City metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted, published about six weeks after the month ends. The headline at the top of this page is the latest print; the county table shows how Ada, Canyon, Gem, Boise and Owyhee counties compare.
- How many jobs does the Boise metro have?
- Nonfarm payroll employment counts jobs on employer payrolls in the metro, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, from the BLS Current Employment Statistics survey. The year-over-year line shows whether hiring is accelerating or slowing; it is the cleanest single read on the local labor market.
- Are Boise home prices going up or down?
- Two measures are shown. The FHFA house price index tracks repeat sales of the same homes each quarter, so it measures price change rather than the mix of what sold. The Realtor.com median listing price is the monthly asking price of homes on the market; with active listings and days on market it shows how the market feels to a buyer today.
- Where do these numbers come from?
- Every series is a public federal statistic (BLS, Census Bureau, FHFA) or Realtor.com's monthly housing inventory, retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database. Each figure links to its source series. MarketIntelLabs computes the year-over-year changes and writes the fact sheet; nothing on this page is estimated or modelled.
Fact sheet
Every figure above, as one dated sentence each. This is the text our desk writes from; a local newsroom may quote it with attribution to the source named in each line.
- Boise metro unemployment rate: 3.1% in September 2026, down 0.1 percentage points from 3.2% in September 2025; prior reading 3.3% (August 2026). Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Boise metro civilian labor force: 452,008 in September 2026, down 1.1% from 456,861 in September 2025; prior reading 454,095 (August 2026). Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Boise metro nonfarm payroll employment: 416.8 thousand in September 2026, up 0.5% from 414.8 thousand in September 2025; prior reading 417.3 thousand (August 2026). Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; seasonally adjusted.
- Boise metro payroll employment, year over year: 0.5% in September 2026, down 1.5 percentage points from 2.0% in September 2025; prior reading 0.6% (August 2026). Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; seasonally adjusted.
- Boise metro housing units authorized by building permits: 640 in September 2026, down 13.2% from 737 in September 2025; prior reading 1,034 (August 2026). Source: Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Boise metro FHFA house price index (all transactions): 514.9 in Q2 2026, up 3.7% from 496.8 in Q2 2025; prior reading 508.5 (Q1 2026). Source: FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Boise metro house prices, year over year: 3.7% in Q2 2026, up 1.2 percentage points from 2.5% in Q2 2025; prior reading 2.6% (Q1 2026). Source: FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; not seasonally adjusted.
- Boise metro median listing price: $609,925 in September 2026, up 1.8% from $599,000 in September 2025; prior reading $615,000 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Boise metro active listings: 2,853 in September 2026, down 8.2% from 3,106 in September 2025; prior reading 2,878 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Boise metro median days on market: 47 in September 2026, down 7.8% from 51 in September 2025; prior reading 47 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Boise metro average weekly wages, all covered employment: $1,381 in Q1 2026, up 7.3% from $1,287 in Q1 2025; prior reading $1,372 (Q4 2025). Source: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (metro), via FRED; seasonally adjusted.
- Boise metro consumer prices, West region, year over year: 3.8% in September 2026, up 0.5 percentage points from 3.3% in September 2025; prior reading 3.5% (August 2026). Source: BLS Consumer Price Index, West region, all items, via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; not seasonally adjusted.
- Ada County unemployment rate: 3.1% in September 2026, down 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Canyon County unemployment rate: 3.2% in September 2026, down 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Gem County unemployment rate: 3.1% in September 2026, down 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Boise County unemployment rate: 3.3% in September 2026, down 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Owyhee County unemployment rate: 2.9% in September 2026, down 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
Fact sheet id ecf32d6ab892 · data through Sep 2026
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