Economics

	Melba	Idaho	USA
Median Family Income (2011 dollars)	$44,995	$48,160	$52,954
Per capita income (2011 dollars)	$17,928	$22,938	$27,067
Median single family home cost	$159,900	$157,900	$175,100

Unemployment

	Melba	Idaho	USA
2011	12.10%	10.40%	9.10%

Taxes: http://tax.idaho.gov/answers_Sales_tax.htm
State sales tax rate: 6.0%
State income tax rate: progressive tax range from 1.6% to 7.8% based on taxable income
Canyon County property tax rate: http://www.canyonco.org/index.aspx

Property tax rates for Melba Idaho real estate vary please contact the Canyon County assessor's office for any questions at 208-454-7431. City property taxes are assessed through the county tax system.

Cost of Living Index 2011

	Melba	Boise
Overall	99	104
Food	106	106
Utilities	100	100
Miscellaneous	101	100
	US Average = 100 for all indicators

Summary: Melba has a high percentage of upgrade small acreage properties outside the city limits making housing costs appear excessive. Housing within the city limits, though very limited due to the small community size, is below Boise’s index number. Transportation is higher as Melba is about 20 miles from the nearest major shopping, employment and service centers, i.e. more commuting miles per capita on average then Boise residents. Food prices are lower because there is less convenience shopping and more planned shopping at large food discount warehouses due to the commuting distance and culture of the farm community.

Data source: http://www.bestplaces.net/col/

Demographics

County: Canyon

Location: Melba is located 22 miles southwest of Boise, the capital of the state of Idaho and the economic hub for the region. Melba is just north of the Snake River and the Snake River Canyon lands, just north of the famed “table rock” archeological site, is near the national Birds of Prey conservation area that is contained in the canyon lands and is east of the Givens Hot Springs, pool and spa historical recreation site. The community lays above the canyon lands with a view of the Owyhee mountain range to the south and southwest.

Elevation: 2,667 ft. (813 m.), on average, above sea level

Time Zone: Mountain Standard Time, MST, (observes Daylight Savings Time)

Phone Area Code: 208

Zip Code: 83641

Local Map: Click Here

Population of Melba: 551 as of 2008 within the city limits, a 20% increase since 2000.

Year 2011 Facts:

	Melba	Idaho	USA
Population	486	1,571,616	307,829,557
Male/female:	52.27%/47.73%	50.31%/49.69%	49.31%/50.69%
Median age:	31.9	34.7	36.6
Avg family	3.06	2.65	2.58
Own homes	59.28%	62.64%	59.9%
Rent homes	34.73%	25.47%	29.73%
Vacant homes	5.99%	11.89%	10.37%
%White	75.41%	88.38%	72.4%
%Black	0.62%	0.81%	12.6%
%Native	0.83%	1.46%	0.9%
%Asian	0.62%	1.11%	4.8%
%Islander			0.2%
%Other	22.52%	8.25%	6.2%
%Hispanic	22.52%	10.49%	12.5%

Schools & Higher Education

Melba Schools: http://www.melbaschools.org/MSD/

1. Melba School District: 208-495-1141, P.O box 185, 520 Broadway Ave, Melba, ID  83641
2. Melba High School: 208-495-2221
3. Melba Middle School:208-495-2230
4. Melba Grade School: 208-495-2508
5. Private schools: none listed
6. Charter schools: none listed
7. Higher education: none within community

Links

Compare ISAT scores for all Idaho Schools: http://www.greatschools.net/test/landing.page?state=ID&tid=76

Compare NAEP scores for Idaho Schools versus national: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/states/

Education Nation Scorecard for Schools: http://nbcscorecard.greatschools.org/?s_cid=20100928weeklysend

Compare State and Community Report Card: http://www.sde.idaho.gov/ipd/reportcard/SchoolReportCard.asp

Cost per student, grades 1-12, and teacher/student ratio comparison to US average.

	Melba	USA
$per student	$3,817	$5,678
teacher ratio	1 to 18	1 to 15
%High school grad	82.29%	84.72%
%4 year college grad	9.03%	17.42%

Higher Education

None None in Melba City limits. However, in the greater Boise Area are these Colleges and Universities:

1. Boise State University: 208-426-1000
2. College of Western Idaho–Nampa: 208-562-3000
3. Apollo College: 877-205-1458
4. ITT Technical Institute-Boise: 208-322-8844
5. Milan Institute-Boise: 208-672-9500
6. Scot Lewis Schools-Boise: 208-375-0190
7. Brown Mackie College-Boise: 208-321-8800
8. Stevens-Henager College-Boise: 208-345-0700
9. Boise Bible College: 208-376-7731

Local History

Melba is located on the Snake River basin plain that covers most of the south end of the State of Idaho. This valley is described as the "Treasure Valley" because of its economic prosperity. The Valley runs from Vale, Oregon on the west to Boise, Idaho on the east. It was formerly known as the "Lower Snake River Valley or Boise River Valley" until 1959 when the name was changed. Near the middle of the valley and the Idaho/Oregon border, five rivers, the Boise, the Payette, the Weiser, the Malheur and the Owyhee drain into the larger Snake River.

This is considered a high desert area with most of the moisture occurring and collecting in the surrounding mountains and then being transferred into the valley by creeks, streams and rivers. These waterways, using diversion dams and canals, provide the irrigation water used by farmers across most of the south end of the state.

Melba's location sprang to life in about 1865 with the discovery of silver in the Owyhee Mountains to the southwest. The community of Silver City was the center of the mining there and was one of the largest communities during Idaho's territory days. Silver City is now virtually abandoned except for some tourist activity to the old ghost town. Melba was part of what is called the "Old Silver Trail" that went from Silver City on the west over to Boise on the east. At that time horse team coaches and freight wagons do what trucks do today but at a much slower rate. It was necessary to have supply, shelter and water stations about every 20 miles. They were called stage stops. Melba was one of these stops.

In the 1880's rail road service came into the area that enhanced the transportation of precious metal ores and later the timber from the mountain areas. Melba didn't spring to life as a formal community until about 1905 when irrigation water was brought to the location though a series of diversion canals off the Boise River that ran across the length of the valley from Boise on the east over to the Snake River on the west. With water, came permanent settlers to farm the rich soil and the community was born. Like many small farming communities in the Treasure Valley, Melba has always been a small farming community, too close to larger communities and their service centers, too small to support much retail business within the community and too far to link up with water and sewer infrastructure. Sewage infrastructure is one of the greatest limiters for these small communities that have restricted rapid growth.

There is a good K-12 school system, some convenience stores, some farm service outlets and some commercial agricultural enterprises within the community with most employers, services, medical care and higher education being located elsewhere in the county and within 30 miles of the subject. Today Melba is still a vibrant farming community which is referred to as the "seed capital" of Idaho. The location has a unique combination of dry weather, soil and good water access that is just right for raising good quality seed crops used by other farmers. Because of Melba's relatively close proximity to Boise, it has, to a lesser extent, become a bedroom community to the Boise Market. Top end acreage properties have seen the most growth recently for those seeking a different life style outside the urban environment of Boise.

Melba is part of the greater Boise economic region of Southwest Idaho, referred to as the "Treasure Valley" due to its agriculturally based wealth, made possible by irrigation and mild climate. Boise is the economic and political hub of this region being the capital of the state, the largest city in the state and the primary location for non- agriculturally based jobs in the region. Recent growth has come mainly through the introduction of clean industries, such as Hewlett Packard and Micron Technologies, in the last 20 years. Melba is part of the Boise Metro area that now has the greatest concentration of people between Salt Lake City Utah and Portland Oregon at about 588,000. Boise and the surrounding areas have also become a hub for transportation and storage, higher education, communication call centers, medical services and most other major demographic factors that allow clean and sustained growth.

Whatever your reasons for coming to Melba, it can be considered a good choice and one of the positive puzzle pieces that make up the "Treasure Valley" whose real treasure has always been its people. Trust the experts at Stewart Realty, LLC to help you find your own piece of Melba Idaho real estate.

Still unsure about where you want to move? Keep reading about Melba Idaho or check out other city pages to find the area of the Treasure Valley that best fits your needs. This site also has up to date information from the Boise MLS on available homes in the area so you can find the perfect home.

Climate

Melba is part of a river valley that runs across southern Idaho at a relatively low elevation. This is a high desert area of low precipitation in the valleys and high rates of sunshine. Most snow fall occurs in the surrounding mountain ranges from November to February which fills the rivers, creeks and streams that run to the valley in the spring time as it melts. The valley does get some snow but on average it is light and infrequent.

Melba's climate is warm during summer when day time temperatures tend to be in the 80's and 90's and cold during winter when temperatures tend to be in the 30's. The cold months are December through February and the warmest months July and August. Temperature shifts from day to night can be extreme primarily during the hottest summer days that cool off after sunset. This is a full four season location with a comparatively mild climate proven ideal for farming, recreation and just living. The annual average precipitation at Melba is 9.94 inches. Rainfall is distributed evenly throughout the year but on average is wetter during the spring and fall seasons. November is usually the wettest month on average at 1.35 inches.

Local Media

There over twenty AM and FM radio stations located in the Boise Valley that reaches Melba that includes multiple NPR stations.

This area has full access to traditional, cable, dish and online TV stations with Boise being regional communication hub for most TV and radio outlets. Fiber optic lines are being extended to residential areas to provide the highest speed data transfers available.

Airports

The largest airport, the Boise Regional airport, is about 22 miles northeast and is the regional hub for air travel. There is a smaller airport, for small charter and private planes, located in Nampa about 20 miles to the northwest.

Boise: Website »
Nampa: Website »