How many people are employed in Idaho?

According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, Idaho has 686,709 employees across 57,177 business establishments in 690 tracked industries.

What are the largest industries in Idaho?

The largest industries in Idaho by employment are Limited-Service Restaurants (29,029), Full-Service Restaurants (25,711), and Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) (12,207).

What is the average payroll in Idaho?

Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in Idaho. The highest-paying tracked industry is Water Transportation at $247,000/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.

How many businesses operate in Idaho?

Idaho has 57,177 business establishments across 690 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.

State overview · ID · Census CBP 2023

Idaho Industry Benchmarks

Name: Idaho Industry Employment and Payroll Benchmarks
Creator: PlainBizBench
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Employment, establishments, and payroll for 690 industries in Idaho. Drill into any industry for a Idaho-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.

Compiled by PlainBizBench

687K
Workers: 57K
Establishments: 690
Industries tracked

Data updated August 2026

The verdict · Idaho

Idaho employs 686,709 workers across 690 tracked industries, led by Limited-Service Restaurants (29,029 workers).

No single sector dominates Idaho (lead 17%; top-three 42%). Margins stay on national industry pages.

Idaho sector employment mix

Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.

Idaho private employment by sector · Census CBP 2023

Idaho spreads employment across sectors: the largest, Health Care and Social Assistance, is only 17% of 686,709 private-sector workers (about the 27th percentile of states by employment). No single NAICS-2 block dominates the private labor market here.

ID breadth ledger · HHI 0.096
Sector	Workers	Share
Health Care and Social Assistance (62)	114,052	17%
Retail Trade (44)	94,210	14%
Accommodation and Food Services (72)	79,037	12%
Top-three cumulative 42% - no single NAICS-2 block dominates.

Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.

Census CBP firm roll

County Business Patterns ID DISTRIBUTED · CBP

#37/51 · 686,709 workers · 57,177 firms

EMP 686,709
EST 57,177
RANK #37/51
PCT 27th pct
LEAD Health Care and Soci…
SHARE 17% lead
BAND distributed
DENS 12.0 /firm
BOOK 690 NAICS
PHOTO New Mexico

Nearest employment-scale peer: New Mexico (628,423 workers)

According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, Idaho ranks #37 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →

Census CBP level-2 private employment among this state and nearest nationwide peers

Top Industries by Employment

Industry	Employment	Establishments	Annual Payroll	Avg Payroll/Emp
Limited-Service Restaurants NAICS 722513	29,029	1,398	$532.2M	$18,332/yr
Full-Service Restaurants NAICS 722511	25,711	1,296	$627.2M	$24,396/yr
Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) NAICS 621111	12,207	1,131	$1.2B	$96,300/yr
Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices NAICS 551114	11,078	201	$1.3B	$113,716/yr
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels NAICS 721110	10,438	387	$300.8M	$28,819/yr
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors NAICS 238220	9,912	904	$625.4M	$63,100/yr
Engineering Services NAICS 541330	8,085	476	$796.8M	$98,552/yr
Offices of Dentists NAICS 621210	7,968	943	$381.7M	$47,901/yr
Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities NAICS 624120	7,698	250	$201.7M	$26,207/yr
New Car Dealers NAICS 441110	7,052	132	$518.8M	$73,570/yr
Temporary Help Services NAICS 561320	7,026	148	$233.6M	$33,247/yr
Commercial Banking NAICS 522110	7,003	500	$495.3M	$70,730/yr
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars NAICS 722515	6,979	621	$125.1M	$17,919/yr
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) NAICS 623110	6,874	101	$275.2M	$40,037/yr
Religious Organizations NAICS 813110	6,459	753	$173.1M	$26,807/yr
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors NAICS 238210	6,323	750	$412.8M	$65,290/yr
Landscaping Services NAICS 561730	6,135	1,166	$315.9M	$51,496/yr
Janitorial Services NAICS 561720	5,563	659	$139.3M	$25,047/yr
Home Health Care Services NAICS 621610	5,148	202	$203.6M	$39,552/yr
Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly NAICS 623312	5,022	196	$155.6M	$30,986/yr

Breadth peers near Idaho's private employment

Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (686,709 in Idaho), excluding ID.

New Mexico 628,423 Maine 545,965 West Virginia 537,890 New Hampshire 533,259 District of Columbia 520,480 Nebraska 897,981 Hawaii 437,405 Delaware 435,085

Disclaimer: Idaho (ID) figures on this page are Census CBP employment and payroll counts for informational registry use only, not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant for decisions about Idaho businesses.

Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · ID

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for Idaho (ID). See our methodology.

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau → · Verify with IRS SOI →