Boise is nicknamed the City of Trees while Idaho’s moniker is the Gem State.
Research website numbeo ranks Boise in the top 7% compared to the 250 cities evaluated on its overall quality of life index at June 2020. Boise scored well on index factors such as health care (best 2%), traffic commute time (fastest 3%), purchasing power (strongest 18%), property price to income ratio (lowest 20%), pollution (cleanest 21%), climate (best 23%) and safety (safest 39%). On the negative side, Boise rates relatively poorly for its cost of living (highest 51%).
Idaho’s capital city is home to the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, America’s only human rights memorial.
Just outside of Boise is the World Center for Birds of Prey, a center that played a key role in re-establishing the peregrine falcon among other rare and endangered species.
Guinness World Records documents Boise, Idaho as being the site where American David Rush set the record for the longest time juggling three objects while blindfolded on October 2, 1985. This remarkable feat took 6 minutes 34 seconds.
Another amusing world record pertaining to Boise occurred on July 6, 2013 when another U.S. citizen Eva Bulzomi held her abdominal plank position while carrying a 60-pound backpack for 17 minutes 26 seconds at an Axiom Fitness in Boise.
Boise serves as headquarters for one colossal corporation recognized as belonging to the Forbes Global 2000 world’s biggest companies, namely the innovative semi-conductor devices maker Micron Technology.
From an international trade perspective, Idaho shipped US$3.431 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2019. Its most valuable exports include photosensitive semiconductor devices (7.4% of Idaho’s global total), photographic plates and film (5.4%), electronic integrated circuit memories (5%), computer parts or accessories (4.3%), electrical instrument parts or accessories (3.8%), ammonium dihyrogenorthophosphate (2.6%), unroasted malt (2.5%), testing instruments and appliances (2.5%), miscellaneous precious-metal articles (2.1%), and electronic integrated circuit processors and controllers (also 2.1%) according to United States Census Bureau data.
The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Boise City was 5.1% in July 2020, up from 2.7% one year earlier.
Capital Facts for Boise, United States: Quick Reference
Geography
Capital landmarks: Belgravia Building, Boise Train Depot, Bronco Stadium, Brumfield’s Gallery, Freak Alley Gallery, Hawks Memorial Stadium, Oregon Trail Memorial Bridge and the Old Idaho Penitentiary
Famous People
Below, you will find 10 of the most famous people born in Boise, United States.
- Claire Blackwelder, actress (born Aug. 26, 1993)
- Torrie Wilson, championship wrestler (born Jul. 24, 1975)
- Brian Scott, professional NASCAR race car driver (born Jan. 12, 1988)
- Morgan James, pop singer (born Nov. 24, 1981)
- Steve Cook, optimum nutrition athlete (born Dec. 10, 1984)
- Jason Gray, comedian (born Aug. 2, 1985)
- Kristine Sutherland, actress (born Apr. 17, 1955)
- James Hoyt, professional MLB baseball pitcher (born Sep. 30, 1986)
- Jake Plummer, professional NFL football quarterback (born Dec. 19, 1974)
- Tracy Wilde, religious leader (born Jul. 27, 1980)
Note: Data for our Famous People tab was sourced from Google searches of published Wikipedia articles specific to each person’s name.
Population
Demonym for a Boise resident: Boisean
Population: 234,576 (Boise) at September 23, 2020
Density: 2,800 people per square mile (1,081 per square kilometer)
Population: 1,826,160 (Idaho) at September 23, 2020
Density: 22 people per square mile (9 per square kilometer)
Financial
GDP: US$34.392 billion in 2018 (Boise)
GDP per person: $47,085
Note: The above GDP metrics are on a current basis and are in U.S. dollars.
Official currency used in Boise: U.S. dollars
Research
Research Sources:
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data).
Dilemma X, U.S. Census Bureau metropolitan population estimates July 1, 2016.
Forbes Global 2000, The World’s Biggest Public Companies.
Guinness World Records, Longest time in an abdominal plank position with a 60 lb pack (female).
Guinness World Records, Longest duration juggling three objects blindfolded.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Total Gross Domestic Product for Boise City, ID (MSA).
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Unemployment Rate in Boise City, ID (MSA).
Nations Online, Capital Cities of the USA.
Numbeo, Quality of Life Index by City.
Official Government Website, City of Boise official website.
United States Census Bureau, Foreign Trade: State by 6-Digit HS Code and Top Countries.
United States Census Bureau, State Population Totals Tables: 2010-2016.
United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: Seasonally Adjusted Metropolitan Area Estimates.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Gross Domestic Product by Metropolitan Area, 2015 (Tables Only).
Wikimedia Commons, Boise city flag.
Wikipedia, Boise, Idaho.
Wikipedia, Boise metropolitan area.
Wikipedia, Idaho.
World Population Review, Boise, Idaho Population.
Boiseans celebrate Independence Day as a national holiday each July 4.
Boise’s land area occupies 83.77 square miles (216.96 square kilometers). The state capital’s population was 234,576 Boiseans at September 23, 2020.
At the state level, Idaho covers a land area measuring 82,643 square miles (214,044 square kilometers) home to a population of 1.8 million people.
Boise’s population density is more concentrated averaging 2,800 residents per square mile (1,081 per square kilometer).
Zooming out to Idaho’s land boundaries, population density dilutes to an average 22 inhabitants per square mile (9 per square kilometer).
