Idaho Rent Prices and Rental Yields by Market (2026)

Before you run a return calculation on an Idaho rental property, you need accurate rent data. Not the optimistic number on a pro forma, not what the current owner claims they're getting, and definitely not the figure from a national rental aggregator that hasn't been updated in six months.

Here's what Idaho rents actually look like in 2026 — by city, property type, and rental strategy — alongside the yield benchmarks that tell you whether a deal actually works.

Long-Term Rental Rates by Market

Boise (Ada County)

The Boise rental market is Idaho's largest and most liquid. Single-family homes and standard two-bedroom apartments in the metro area command monthly rents of approximately $1,800 to $2,200 for long-term tenancies. Prime neighborhoods, newer construction, and properties with proximity to Boise State University or major employers can push above this range. Older rental stock in less desirable areas pulls toward the lower end.

Given a median home value around $541,000, that rent-to-price relationship produces gross yields of approximately 4.0% to 5.5% on urban Boise acquisitions. At current prices, most central Boise properties don't cash flow positively on leveraged purchases at 20% to 25% down — they're appreciation plays.

Canyon County (Nampa/Caldwell)

Nampa and Caldwell rents run approximately $1,500 to $1,900 per month for single-family homes. At median purchase prices of $280,000 to $350,000, this produces gross yields of 5.5% to 6.5% — materially stronger than Boise.

Canyon County is the current sweet spot for Treasure Valley cash-flow investors. The lower price basis means more properties hit DSCR approval thresholds (typically needing 1.15 to 1.25 DSCR) and generate positive cash flow after all holding costs. The trade-off is higher property tax rates (roughly 1.42% for investment properties) and an older housing stock that tends to require more maintenance than newer Boise suburbs.

Coeur d'Alene (Kootenai County)

Long-term rents in Coeur d'Alene run approximately $1,900 to $2,300 per month for typical single-family homes. Given median values around $577,000, that's a gross yield of approximately 3.5% to 4.5% — the most compressed in the state.

Most Coeur d'Alene investors aren't pursuing long-term rental yields as their primary thesis. The city's value proposition for investors is in vacation rental revenue and long-term appreciation, not monthly cash flow from traditional tenants.

Twin Falls (Twin Falls County)

One of Idaho's strongest cash-flow markets. Median home values around $335,000 with median monthly rents of approximately $1,550 produce gross yields of roughly 5.5% to 6.5% at the city level. But the real opportunity is in small multifamily: duplexes, triplexes, and small apartment buildings in Twin Falls regularly achieve gross yields of 6.5% to 8.0% when acquired at market prices.

Twin Falls has a stable, diverse economic base — agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, Southern Idaho Technical College — that produces consistent tenant demand without heavy dependence on a single employer.

Pocatello (Bannock County)

Pocatello shows median monthly rents around $1,430 on median home values of approximately $310,000. That's a gross yield in the 5.5% range for single-family homes. Like Twin Falls, the real action is in multifamily — smaller buildings near Idaho State University produce above-average yields with consistent demand from the university's student and staff population.

Pocatello is less liquid than the Treasure Valley, which requires longer hold periods and more patient underwriting, but entry prices are lower than anywhere else in the active Idaho investment market.

Idaho Falls (Bonneville County)

Idaho Falls median monthly rents of $1,800 to $2,000 on median home values around $397,900 produce gross yields of approximately 5.4% to 6.0%. A solid middle ground between Boise's compressed yields and Pocatello's deep-value illiquidity. The presence of Idaho National Laboratory creates stable, higher-income tenant demand that doesn't exist in most comparably-priced markets.

Short-Term Rental Revenue Data

For investors pursuing the vacation rental strategy, here's the STR revenue picture across Idaho's main markets:

Ketchum stands out with by far the highest nightly rate ($536 ADR) but the lowest occupancy (32.8%). The market is seasonal — ski season drives January through March occupancy, and summer hiking/biking drives July through September, but shoulder months can be thin. At $3,291 estimated monthly STR revenue, it's the strongest revenue per property in the state, but against median values above $900,000, the yield profile still requires careful analysis.

Boise's STR market is interesting post-licensing repeal (effective May 2026). With no license required under the new framework, the barrier to entry has dropped. This will likely increase competition and may put modest downward pressure on occupancy rates as more properties enter the platform. Investors targeting Boise STRs should model occupancy at 45% to 50% rather than the current 51.1% to account for market saturation.

Coeur d'Alene's combination of $311 ADR and 45% occupancy produces the strongest revenue-to-purchase-price ratio among the WUI markets, particularly for properties with lake access or waterfront views that command premium nightly rates.

The Rent Growth Context

Idaho's rapid post-2020 rent growth has moderated. The pace of annual rent increases that characterized 2021 and 2022 — double-digit percentage gains in some markets — is not the expectation for 2026 and beyond.

Current rent growth is more in line with general inflation: 2% to 4% annual increases in established markets. New supply construction in the Treasure Valley is adding rental inventory, which constrains landlords' ability to push rents aggressively.

For underwriting purposes, use 0% to 2% real rent growth in your base case (on top of inflation), and run your returns at current rent levels to confirm the deal works without optimistic growth assumptions. Properties that only work if rents keep rising aren't deals — they're speculations.

What These Numbers Mean for Your Pro Forma

A few practical guidelines for using this data in your analysis:

Use gross yield as a screening filter, not a return calculation. A 6% gross yield in Twin Falls does not produce a 6% cash-on-cash return. You still need to account for property taxes (1.2% to 1.42% of value for investment properties), insurance ($1,600 to $5,000+ depending on location), property management (8% to 10% of gross rent is typical in Idaho), vacancy (budget 5% to 8% in most markets), and maintenance (1% to 2% of property value per year).

Net yield typically runs 30% to 45% below gross yield once all operating expenses are applied. A 6% gross yield often produces a 3% to 4% net operating income yield before financing costs.

Run the DSCR test before you commit to a market. Take your expected gross rent, divide by your expected PITI payment at 20% to 25% down at current rates, and confirm it exceeds 1.15. If it doesn't, you're either paying too much, expecting too much rent, or need more equity.

The Idaho Investment Property Guide provides market-specific rent benchmarks, operating expense assumptions, DSCR calculators, and pro forma templates for each major Idaho investment market. Access it at /us/idaho/investment-property/.

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