Counties / Idaho / Benewah County

Benewah County, ID

FIPS 16009 · population 10,142 · outside every metro area

$341k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$341k
▲ 2.8% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$875
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$1,079
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+69.9%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+2.8%FHFA HPI2025+13.6%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$294k
Surveyed gross rent$875
Rent burden 30%+49.5%
Median year built1979
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
14.4%vacant
4,757estimated housing units
Occupied tenure26.8% renter
owner 73.2%renter 26.8%
Structure mix71.6% single-family
Single-family 71.6%20+ units 0.4%Mobile home 17.8%Other 10.2%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs3,453▲ 1.8% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments418annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,131▲ 4.7% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities28.5% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS+1.8%WEEKLY WAGE+4.7%Trade, transportation, and utilities28.5%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Benewah County presents a decision tension: Zillow’s county home-value reading is current, whereas FHFA’s stronger repeat-transaction appreciation reading is from a different period and method, and market rent is absent. In 2026-06 Zillow put median home value at $341,274, up 2.79%. FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI—not a home value—rose 13.61% annually and 69.87% cumulatively over five years. Those methods and vintages cannot be averaged. Buyers relying on appreciation should investigate recent closed comps; income-focused underwriting should remain cautious.

02Housing economics

Measured market rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be computed from this record. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is $1,079 per month, but it is a payment standard rather than an estimate of county asking rent and cannot substitute in a yield calculation. The effective property-tax rate is 0.49%, a carrying-cost input alongside the current price measure. The reported median annual tax is another reference, but cannot be matched to Zillow’s median value or a specific property.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com’s 2026-06 MLS evidence shows 58 active listings, 18.37% more year over year, while the pending-to-active ratio was 25%. These are visible supply and listing-status measures, not closed sales or proof of buyer demand. The 16.65% price-reduced share measures seller concessions; property-specific comparable sales still require review. Tax-return migration was net positive by 3 households, and inbound movers’ average income exceeded outbound movers’ by $17,097. That small flow offers little depth evidence. Investor purchase participation was limited relative to total purchase mortgages.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled annual building-value loss is 0.26%; treat that model as a screening input, not site-specific damage or insurance cost. Annual QCEW counts covered jobs at county workplaces, not resident employment or an outlook; its largest disclosed private supersector is Trade, transportation, and utilities, not the whole economy. Missing achieved rents, vacancy, lease concessions, insurance quotes, flood-zone and elevation data, and closed-sale comps prevent a property-level cash-flow, liquidity, and hazard conclusion. Next checks are rent rolls, tax bills, insurance, and parcel-level flood review.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Benewah County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
St. Maries city2.9KPlummer city1.2KDe Smet CDP135Parkline CDP91Tensed city71Fernwood CDP0
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

6 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    St. Maries cityIncorporated place
    2,915
  2. 02
    Plummer cityIncorporated place
    1,162
  3. 03
    De Smet CDPCensus-designated place
    135
  4. 04
    Parkline CDPCensus-designated place
    91
  5. 05
    Tensed cityIncorporated place
    71
  6. 06
    Fernwood CDPCensus-designated place
    0

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.264% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.49%

$1,443 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+3

239 in · 236 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$17,097

$65,339 arriving · $48,242 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors1.1%

1 of 92 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings58▲ 18.4% year over year
Median days on market48▼ 14.2% year over year
Listings price-reduced16.7%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▲ 0.4% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Achieved rent, vacancy, and lease-concession data may show weaker cash flow than the price supports.
  2. Parcel-specific flood exposure, insurance availability, and insurance costs may exceed the county model screen.
  3. County-wide MLS and migration evidence may not match the target property’s submarket or condition.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Is measured market rent available for a gross-yield calculation?

No. Market rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be computed.

Does HUD Fair Market Rent establish local asking rent?

No. It is a payment standard, not measured asking rent.

What does the record show about investor purchase participation?

It identifies a single investor purchase among total purchases, indicating limited non-owner participation in this record.