Economics

	Parma	Idaho	USA
Median Family Income (2011 dollars)	$40,991	$48,160	$52,954
Per capita income (2011 dollars)	$16,254	$22,938	$27,067
Median single family home cost	$109,300	$157,900	$175,100

Unemployment

	Parma	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 Parma 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

	Payette	Boise
Overall	91	104
Food	106	106
Utilities	100	100
Miscellaneous	101	100
	US Average = 100 for all indicators

Summary: The most significant differences in index, compared to Boise, is lower housing costs, which is consistent with a more modest community of older smaller homes.

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

Demographics

County: Canyon

Location: Parma is located 15 miles west of Caldwell.

Elevation: 2,331 ft. (655 m.), on average, above sea level

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

Phone Area Code: 208

Zip Code: 83660

Local Map: Click Here

Population of Parma: 831 as of 2008 within the city limits, an 3.0% increase since 2000.

Year 2011 Facts:

	Parma	Idaho	USA
Population	1,871	1,571,616	307,829,557
Male/female:	50.45% / 49.55%	50.31%/49.69%	49.31%/50.69%
Median age:	32.3	34.7	36.6
Avg family	2.97	2.65	2.58
Own homes	59.46%	62.64%	59.9%
Rent homes	30.73%	25.47%	29.73%
Vacant homes	9.82%	11.89%	10.37%
%White	87.28%	88.38%	72.4%
%Black	0.59%	0.81%	12.6%
%Native	0.80%	1.46%	0.9%
%Asian	1.06%	1.11%	4.8%
%Islander
%Other	10.27%	8.25%	6.2%
%Hispanic	28.63%	10.49%	12.5%

Schools & Higher Education

Payette Schools: http://parmaschools.org/

1. Parma School district: 208-722-5115
2. Parma High School: 208-722-5115
3. Parma Middle School: 208-722-5115
4. Maxine Johnson Elementary School: 208-722-5115

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.

	Parma	USA
$per student	$3,777	$5,678
teacher ratio	1 to 17	1 to 15
%High school grad	69.47%	84.72%
%4 year college grad	7.12%	17.42%

Higher Education

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

1. Maranatha Bible College: 208-846-9403
2. Northwest Lineman College: 208-888-4817
3. University of Phoenix: 208-888-1505
4. Boise State University: 208-426-1000
5. College of Western Idaho–Nampa: 208-562-3000
6. Apollo College: 877-205-1458
7. ITT Technical Institute-Boise: 208-322-8844
8. Milan Institute-Boise: 208-672-9500
9. Scot Lewis Schools-Boise: 208-375-0190
10. Brown Mackie College-Boise: 208-321-8800
11. Stevens-Henager College-Boise: 208-345-0700
12. Boise Bible College: 208-376-7731

Local History

Parma is located on the Snake River basin plain that crosses, from east to west, the south end of the State of Idaho. Parma is on the west end of the valley at an average elevation of about 2,231 feet above sea level and is near the confluence of the Boise and Snake Rivers to the southwest. 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 provide the irrigation water used by farmers across the whole south end of the state. The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through the Parma area in 1805 on their way to the west coast. In 1811, the Wilson Price Hunt party passed through exploring portions of the then future Oregon Trail. In 1836, the very first "white" settlement in southwest Idaho was established near Parma by the Hudson Bay fur trading company. This settlement was a small fort, called Fort Boise and was located about four miles southwest of present day Parma at the confluence of the Boise and Snake Rivers.

In 1843, the first settlers started passing through this location on the Oregon Trail with a few staying. The 1850's brought the start of the Indian Wars that lasted until about 1880. From the beginning of Fort Boise in 1836, small canals had been developed around Parma to provide food supplies first for trappers, then miners and then for settlers. In 1882 the first major canal system was finished south of Parma allowing large tracts of land to come on line made possible by irrigation water coming from the Boise River. In 1883, a railroad siding was put in near present day Parma as the Oregon Short line was being brought into the Boise Valley that was completed in 1884. That same year Frank Fouch opened a general store near the siding and was responsible for naming the location Parma.

In 1890, the community of Parma was finally platted the same year Idaho became the 43rd state of the Union. Though Parma played a roll, from the very beginning, in Idaho's history it has always remained a small community based on agriculture. Today it has most services, still acts as a service supply center for local farms, has farm related manufacturing within the community and supports a K-12 school system. An Old Fort Boise replica commemorative building is now located on the east end of the city park with Fort Boise Day being celebrated yearly in Parma. This celebrates Parma's early roots and contribution to the settlement of the Boise Valley.

Parma 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 source of non-agriculturally based jobs for the region. To a lesser extent, Parma has become a satellite or bedroom community location for the Boise market. It has been limited by its location but more by its lack of infrastructure, i.e. sewer system, that hinders large-scale changes in population. Most of the recent development pressure has been taken up by lands and communities closer to Boise such as Caldwell, Nampa and Middleton. The recent rapid growth in the east county area came primarily through the introduction of clean industries, such as Hewlett Packard and Micron Technologies, in the last 20 years. Boise and the surrounding area™s 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.

Parma is located in Canyon County. It has a population of about 1,831 within the city limits as of 2008 and has experienced a less than 1% per year growth rate in the last 20 years. Most of the population lives outside the city limits on farmlands near Parma. Parma is on the outer edge of the Boise Metro area that now has the greatest number of people between Salt Lake City Utah and Portland Oregon at about 588,000. Parma has a diverse history and rich heritage that has always played large in Southwest Idaho's story. In recent years Parma has become a favorite location for upper end, small acreage, residential properties, located in the unincorporated areas around Parma. If you are looking for the small town feel, with acreage lots available, with low student to teacher ratios, lower cost of real estate but within good striking distance of all of the best southwest Idaho has to offer, Parma is a good choice.

Whatever your reasons for coming to Parma, 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 Parma Idaho real estate.

Still unsure about where you want to move? Keep reading about Parma 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

Parma 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.

Parma'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 November 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 Caldwell is 10.0 inches. Rainfall is distributed evenly throughout the year but on average is wetter during the spring and fall seasons. September is usually the wettest month on average at 1.58 inches.

Local Media

There over twenty AM and FM radio stations located in the Boise Valley that reaches Parma 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 41 miles northeast and is the regional hub for air travel. There is a smaller airport, for small charter and private planes, located in Payette.

Boise: Website
Parma Municipal Airport: Website