Meridian Idaho City Information

Economics

	Meridian	Idaho	USA
Median Family Income (2016 dollars)	$63,225	$56,922	$53,954
Per capita income (2016 dollars)	$26,738	$23,087	$28,555
Median single family home cost	$208,900	$172,200	$175,100

Unemployment	Meridian	Idaho	USA
2016	3.4%	3.6%	5.2%

Meridian zip codes:

                    83642 -  To see a boundary map click here:  http://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/83642/

                    83646 -  To see a boundary map click here:  http://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/83646/

                    83680 -  For P.O. Boxes

Taxes: https://tax.idaho.gov/i-1023.cfm
State sales tax rate: 6.0%
State income tax rate: progressive tax range from 1.6% to 7.8% based on taxable income
Ada County property tax rate:  http://www.adaweb.net/Assessor.aspx

Property tax rates for Meridian real estate vary please contact the Ada County assessor’s office for any questions at 208-287-7200. City property taxes are assessed through the county tax system.

Cost of Living Index 2016

	Meridian
Overall	104
Food	95
Utilities	94
Miscellaneous	101
	US Average = 100 for all indicators

Summary: The greatest index difference is found in housing costs. Meridian is predominately composed of new or newer subdivisions. Boise has a larger diverse population and older housing base on average. New homes in Meridian are about comparable to equivalent new homes in Boise.

Demographics

County: Ada

Location: Meridian is located in Ada County and borders Boise on the west. Meridian has views of the Boise Mountain Range to the northeast and the Owyhee Mountain range to the southwest. Boise is the capital of the state of Idaho and the economic hub for the region. Meridian 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.

Elevation: 2,605 ft. (794 m.), on average, above sea level

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

Phone Area Code: 208

Zip Code:83642, 83646, 83680

Local Map: Click Here

 

Year 2016 Facts:

	Meridian	Idaho	USA
Population	90,739	1,654,930	321,418,820
Male/female:	48.31%/51.69%	50.12%/49.88%	49.19%/50.81%
Median age:	34.1	35.2	37.4
Avg family	2.84	2.68	2.58
Own homes	72.74%	59.96%	56.34%
Rent homes	23.96%	26.69%	31.21%
Vacant homes	3.31%	13.35%	12.45%
%White	88.18%	88.38%	62.77%
%Black	.74%	0.54%	12.24%
%Native	.05%	1.5%	0.66%
%Asian	1.84%	1.3%	4.95%
%Islander	.06%		0.16%
%Other	.03%	.07%	.20%
%Hispanic	7.12%	11.65	16.9

 

Schools & Higher Education

West Ada School District (Boise, Meridian, Eagle and Star) Only Meridian schools are listed below:

West Ada School District: http://www.westada.org/

1. West Ada School District: 208-855-4500
2. Meridian High School: 208-350-4160
3. Mountain View High School: 208-855-4050
4. Rocky Mountain High School: 208-350-4340
5. Central Academy Alternative School: 208-855-4325
6. Meridian Academy Alternative School: 208-855-4315
7. Meridian Medical Arts Charter High School: 208-855-4075
8. Meridian Technical Charter High School: 208-288-2928
9. Compass Public Charter School: 208-855-2802
10. Heritage Middle School: 208-350-4130
11. Lewis and Clark Middle School: 208-377-1353
12. Meridian Middle School: 208-855-4225
13. Sawtooth Middle School: 208-855-4200
14. Siena K8 Magnet School: 208-350-4370
15. Crossroads Middle School: 208-855-4275
16. Pathways Middle School: 208-350-4040
17. Chaparral Elementary School: 208-350-4180
18. Chief Joseph Elementary School: 208-350-4200
19. Discovery Elementary School: 208-855-4090
20. Hunter Elementary School: 208-855-4285
21. Linder Elementary School: 208-855-4430
22. Mary McPherson Elementary School: 208-855-4300
23. Meridian Elementary School: 208-855-4335
24. Paramount Elementary School: 208-350-4120
25. Peregrine Elementary School: 208-888-1384
26. Prospect Elementary School: 208-350-4000
27. River Valley Elementary School: 208-844-1741
28. New Way Montessori Private School: 208-288-1990
29. Cole Valley Christian Private School: 208-898-9003

Links

Idaho School Performance Data 2013 Star Ratings (PDF)

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/

 

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

	Meridian	USA
$per student	$6,141	$12,383
teacher ratio	1 to 21	1 to 19.4
%High school grad.	94.9%	84.14%
%4 year college grad.	33.3%	25.42%

Higher Education

Also in the greater Boise Area are these Colleges and Universities:

1. Boise State University: 208-426-1000   https://www.boisestate.edu
2. College of Western Idaho–Nampa: 208-562-3000  http://cwidaho.cc
3. Carrington College: 208-779-3100   http://carrington.edu/schools/boise-idaho
4. Paul Mitchell Schools-Boise: 208-375-0190   https://paulmitchell.edu/boise/
5. Stevens-Henager College-Boise: 208-345-0700   http://www.stevenshenager.edu/boise
6. Boise Bible College: 208-376-7731   http://www.boisebible.edu
7. Northwest Lineman College: 208-888-4817  https://lineman.edu/

Local History

Meridian is located on the Snake River basin plain that crosses, from east to west, the south end of the State of Idaho. Meridian is near the middle of the valley at an average elevation of about 2,605 feet above sea level with the only natural waterway being Five Mile Creek that passes through the community from its path from the mountains to the east over to the Boise River to the north. 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.

Meridian is in the general area of the old Oregon Trail. Though large-scale settlement did not occur until the 1880’s because of gold and silver strikes in the area and the development of an irrigation canal system, there was activity as early as 1811 with trappers coming into the valley off the tail of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Before that, it was the domain of the American Indian. In 1881 the Oregon Short Line Railroad started building its line westward across Idaho. In this first effort, Boise was bypassed. It was not until 1887 when Boise and therefore Meridian was connected to the main east west and north south rail systems.

Because of Meridians close proximity to Boise, it had development activity as early as 1885, with a school being built and other commercial activities. In 1892, a canal system was put in and commercial farming became viable. With the railroad and irrigation water established, the area began to blossom like a rose in the desert. With the railroad came a post office and the community’s first name of “Hunter”, after the first post office superintendent. In 1893, an Order of Odd Fellows chapter was established and adopted the name “Meridian” for its lodge. This was in recognition of Idaho’s principle surveyor’s meridian, which runs along Meridian Road as it passes through town. The new name stuck and was used when the village was incorporated in 1903. The first population count, as a distinct community, dates to 1900 when 200 people were reported to be living there. There has been continuous growth since that time and the population now stands at about 65,000. This makes Meridian the second largest city in Ada County and the third largest city in the State.

Meridian 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 of non-agriculturally based jobs for the region. Meridian adjoins Boise, on the east, Nampa, the second largest city in Idaho on the west and Eagle on the north. This makes Meridian the hub of the greater Boise area. Recent growth has all but eliminated the agricultural based economy once predominant in the area to its current status. This change came mainly through the introduction of clean industries, such as Hewlett Packard and Micron Technologies, in the last 20 years. 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.

Meridian is located in Ada County. The population of Meridian increased more than 185% in last 10 years, primarily due to non-agricultural related regional growth as noted with most of the new growth being based on residential development. Ada County has the largest concentration of people in the state. Meridian has established itself as a full service community. Even though it does not have a public college or university within the city limits, it has everything else and with four public colleges being within 30 miles or less of the community. The community’s small-town feel but convenient location has made it an attractive spot for families and others. Meridian is known for having more new residential subdivisions per square mile than any other location in the area. With this comes the highest percent of Charter and Magnate schools, alternative schools and educational opportunities in the state for K-12. The community is family oriented and focused on the best educational experience possible for those that live there. With this orientation and its central location for optimal employment access, it continues to be in good demand as a place to live and raise families.

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

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

Meridian 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.

Meridian’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 Meridian is 8.21 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 Meridian 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 5 miles east and is the regional hub for air travel. There is 1 private heliport listed for Meridian, Idaho.

• Boise: Boise Airport – Website »
• Meridian: St Luke’s Meridian Medical Center Heliport – Website »