CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

43.31° N · 113.94° W · GEOID 1612790

Carey

Blaine County, Idaho · part of the Hailey, ID metro

Limited data population under 5,000

IdahoCarey, IDCareyCarey

The short answer

Carey is home to 1,196 people. Median household income is $59,375 a year and median rent is $1,063 a month, 21.5% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $311,800, about 5.3x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,063
22% below the median place
Median household income
$59,375
26% below the median place
Median home value
$311,800
2% below the median place
Unemployment
2.1%
58% below the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Carey

  • Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, rent rose 7.7% a year while household income rose -1.3%, so rent outran pay by more than in 97% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 36 Idaho places.
  • Households average 4.04 people, larger than in 99% of places its size. It is the highest of 36 Idaho places.
  • The median resident is 26.4 years old, younger than in 97% of places its size. It is the 3rd-lowest of 36 Idaho places.
  • Public schools here have 11.3 students per teacher, fewer than in 86% of places its size. It is the lowest of 34 Idaho places.
  • Owning with a mortgage costs only about $157 a month more than the median rent, a smaller gap than in 87% of places its size.
01

Moving to Carey

Blaine County loses about 4.2 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in1,019
Moved out1,110
Net−91

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Ada County, ID90154−64
Lincoln County, ID63

Within Idaho, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within IdahoOther states

Income per tax return

Arrivals$170K
Leavers$117K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Blaine County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
5.3% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 3.5% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Blaine County report $170,200 a year in income on average; those leaving, $116,600, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
Income you would need
$42,500 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,063 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,220 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $311,800.
Getting to work
33 minutes each way on average; 14.6% work from home; 3.3% take transit.
If it is close but not quite
Sunnyside, WA matches it on character. Compare the two
Income of households moving in7
$170,247
141% above the median place
Income of households moving out7
$116,575
66% above the median place
Moved from another state1
3.5%
75% above the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureCareyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure5.3%8% below
Moved from another state1County figure3.5%75% above
Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure-4.2below (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in7County figure$170,247141% above
Income of households moving out7County figure$116,57566% above
02

What it costs to live here

Property tax rate is 0.5%, 47% below the median place.

Carey21.5%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$42,520
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
21.5%
5% above the median place
Home price to income
5.3x
38% above the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
22%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$46,200
a year, prices not adjusted
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Carey, $1,063 a month. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Carey.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Carey? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Property tax rate1
0.5%
47% below the median place
Owner costs with a mortgage1
$1,220
35% below the median place
Property tax paid (median)1
$1,500
54% below the median place
All 15 cost and housing measures
MeasureCareyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,06322% below
Rent to income121.5%5% above
Property tax rate10.5%47% below
Home price to income15.3x38% above
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms2County figure$1,6734% above
HUD area median income3County figure$108,5001% above
Property tax paid (median)1$1,50054% below
Median home value1$311,8002% below
Home prices, 1-year change4County figure6.8%113% above
Home prices, 5-year change4County figure71.6%39% above
Homeownership171.6%8% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure30.5%40% below
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,22035% below
Vacant homes1County figure34.9%394% above
Median year built119700% below
03

Work and pay

Income per person is $19,781, 51% below the median place.

Income per person1
$19,781
51% below the median place
Mean commute1
33 min
34% above the median place
Median household income1
$59,375
26% below the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureCareyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$59,37526% below
Income per person1$19,78151% below
Unemployment1County figure2.1%58% below
Average annual pay5County figure$62,7025% below
Pay growth, 1 year5County figure3.3%11% below
Jobs5County figure14,43890% below
Poverty rate1County figure6.6%38% below
Mean commute133 min34% above
Works from home1County figure14.6%17% above
Commutes by transit1County figure3.3%284% above
04

Who lives here

Household size is 4.0, 62% above the median place.

Household size1
4.0
62% above the median place
Homes with broadband1
98.7%
7% above the median place
Median age1
26.4
32% below the median place
All 9 people measures
MeasureCareyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population11,1966646th largest
Population change since 202065.1%340% above
Median age126.432% below
Bachelor's or higher114.7%54% below
High school or higher192.0%0% below
Household size14.062% above
Born abroad1County figure13.8%56% above
No health insurance1County figure9.0%41% above
Homes with broadband198.7%7% above
05

Life in Carey

1 site is on the National Register of Historic Places.

  • Fish Creek Dam listed 1978

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents16.7 +64%
Playgrounds per 10k41.8 4.4×
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k41.8 3.7×
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars44.9 2.2×
Shops70.5 2.3×
Arts, recreation and fitness20.4 5.0×
Doctors' offices and clinics26.1 +29%
Child care centers4.0 +74%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Public schools11
1
89% below the median place
Public school students11
272
94% below the median place
Students per teacher11
11.3
27% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureCareyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools11189% below
Public school students1127294% below
Students per teacher1111.327% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure44.9116% above
Shops per 10k8County figure70.5133% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure20.4398% above
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure26.129% above
Child care centers per 10k8County figure4.074% above
Parks per 10k916.764% above
Playgrounds per 10k941.8344% above
Grocery stores per 10k90.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k941.8275% above
Libraries per 10k90.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails90.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi90.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings10192% below
06

Safety, weather and risk

Median air quality index is 17, 60% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Carey. Larger places are fetched first.

Median air quality index14
17
60% below the median place
Average temperature12
43°F
22% below the median place
Good air days14
96.6%
41% above the median place
All 10 weather and risk measures
MeasureCareyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high12County figure82°F5% below
January average low12County figure13°F47% below
Average temperature12County figure43°F22% below
Annual precipitation12County figure18.0 in59% below
Natural hazard risk13County figure65.429% below
Tornado risk13County figure7.791% below
Wildfire risk13County figure93.853% above
Heat wave risk13County figure64.329% below
Median air quality index14County figure1760% below
Good air days14County figure96.6%41% above
08

Carey in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 22% of the median income in 2030, up from 21% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$1,063/mo (2024)$1,390/mo$1,140 to $1,690/mo+4.5%
Median household income$59,375 (2024)$74,000$62,500 to $88,000+3.8%
Median home value$311,800 (2024)$450,000$327,000 to $620,000+6.3%
Population727 (2025)750720 to 780+0.6%

The median home would be worth 6.1 years of the median income in 2030, against 5.3 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Carey

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Sunnyside, WA$1,026$60,923Compare
Valley Falls, SC$1,021$55,661Compare
Alma, AR$1,012$68,562Compare
Orange Cove, CA$1,103$46,629Compare
Orange Cove, CAAlma, ARValley Falls, SCSunnyside, WACarey, IDCareySunnysideValley FallsAlmaOrange CoveCareySunnysideValley FallsAlmaOrange Cove

Common questions

Is Carey a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, rent rose 7.7% a year while household income rose -1.3%, so rent outran pay by more than in 97% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 36 Idaho places. Households average 4.04 people, larger than in 99% of places its size. It is the highest of 36 Idaho places. On cost, space and class size it scores 78 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Carey expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 21.5% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $311,800.

What salary do you need to live in Carey?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $42,520 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Carey?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Sunnyside, WA, Valley Falls, SC, Alma, AR and Orange Cove, CA.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  3. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  4. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  5. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  6. Population Estimates · US Census Bureau · Vintage 2025
  7. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  10. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  11. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  12. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  13. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  14. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Carey with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Carey itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/carey-idaho

Citytistics. “Carey, Idaho.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/carey-idaho/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.