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Challis is a tiny town of 854 people in Custer County, Idaho. It's about 117 miles from Boise, ID and 283 miles from Salt Lake City, UT, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 86°F and winter highs 29°F, with about 28 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $176k and rent runs about $615 a month.
854people
$176kTypical home
$615/moRent
86° / 29°Summer / winter
28"Snow
231Sunny days
76Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 854
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 433 people per sq mi
- 283 mi to Salt Lake City, UT
- 117 mi to Boise, ID
- 117 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $176k (≈$1,112/mo)
- Median rent $615/mo
- Median household income $41k
- Property tax about 0.3% of value
- 2.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 86°F
- Winter highs around 29°F
- Dry summers (dew point 36°F)
- 231 sunny days a year (92 totally clear)
- 134 cloudy days a year
- 43 of 90 winter days are gray
- 76 days a year with rain or snow
- 28" of snow a year
- 12 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 49 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Very low violent crime (158 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (411 per 100k)
People
- Median age 48
- 21% of households have kids
- 28% are 65 or older
- 22% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 2% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 16 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 46 mi to SMN airport
- 119 mi to BOI (major hub)
- 265 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 67% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1979
- 78% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Mountain country
- Elevation 5,210 ft
- 436 mi to the ocean
- 126 mi to a big lake
- Trailhead in town
- 57 mi to the nearest ski area
- 9 mi to the nearest campground
- 1 golf course within 25 mi
Things to do
- Few or no sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- Few or no coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 1 museum within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 132 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 27% of Idaho districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 41 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 111 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 3 mi to the nearest vet
- 49 mi to the nearest dog park
- 7 congregations per 10k people
- 92 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Custer County: R+53 in 2024
- Idaho: R+37 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- High earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- High drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.