(208) 518-6527

Quick Facts & History

Quick Facts

Population

  • Kootenai County: 171,362 (2020 Census), 183,578 (2022 Estimate)
  • Coeur d’Alene: 54,628 (2020 Census), 56,733 (2022 Estimate)
  • Post Falls: 38,485 (2020 Census), 44,194 (2022 Estimate)
  • Hayden: 15,570 (2020 Census), 16,531 (2022 Estimate)
  • Rathdrum: 9,211 (2020 Census), 10,651 (2022 Estimate)
  • Dalton Gardens: 2,537 (2020 Census), 2,522 (2022 Estimate)
  • Spirit Lake: 2,337 (2020 Census), 2,515 (2022 Estimate)

Kootenai County Zip Codes

Weather

  • Average Yearly Precipitation: 25″
  • Average Yearly Days of Rain: 122
  • Average Yearly Snowfall: 28″
  • Average Yearly Days of Snow: 14
  • Mean Maximum Temperature: 96 (August)
  • Mean Low Temperature: 11 (January)

Age Demographics

  • Under 5: 5.4%
  • Under 18: 22.1%
  • 18-65: 52.4%
  • Over 65: 20.1%

Average Household Income

$71,949

Median Home Price

$526,750

Tax Rates

  • Income tax: 5.695%
  • Sales tax: 6% (many things, like most services, are not taxed and Idaho residents typically receive a grocery tax credit around $120 per person, including dependents, when they file their taxes).
  • Property tax: Rates will vary with individual jurisdiction but the average rate in Kootenai County is just under $500 per $100,000 in assessed value and Idaho residents receive a homestead exemption, meaning the first $125,000 of your home’s value (in most cases) is exempt.
  • Gas tax: $0.33 per gallon

Major Employers

History

(from Visit Coeur d’Alene)

During the early 1800s the Northwest Fur Trading Company, a British company under the leadership of David Thompson, began to establish fur trading posts in the Inland Northwest.  One of those posts, called Kullyspell House, was built on the northern shore of Lake Pend O’Reille.  During that time some the French speaking traders began to use the French words “Coeur d’Alene” as nick name for the Schitsu’umsh people, who traded at Kullyspell House.  In French “Coeur” means heart and “Alene” means awl, a sharp pointed tool used to pierce leather.  In other words, they were known as sharp traders with hearts like the point of an awl.  Within a few years the Schetsu’umsh people became known as the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the large lake which was the center of their homeland became Lake Coeur d’Alene.

In 1878, General William T. Sherman established a military fort on the northern shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene, which he named Fort Coeur d’Alene.  While the fort was under construction, a small village began to develop on the eastern edge of the Fort Coeur d’Alene.  That was the beginning of Coeur d’Alene, the city by the Lake. The name of the fort was later changed to Fort Sherman, which is now the location of North Idaho College.  Three of the original fort buildings are still in use: the chapel, powder magazine and one of the officer’s quarters.

In 1880 the Fort’s commander hired Norwegian, Peter Sorensen, to build an 85-foot steamboat, the Amelia Wheaton, to haul supplies. Other steamboats were quickly built for commercial and pleasure purposes.  By 1910, there were more steamboats on Lake Coeur d’Alene than any other body of water west of the Mississippi River.

The city of Coeur d’Alene was incorporated in 1887 and continued to flourish. Early visitors found Coeur d’Alene Lake to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the country. As the railroads and steamboats provided transportation points between the Coeur d’Alene Lake, the St. Joe and Coeur d’Alene Rivers, it soon became a destination for thousands of tourists. Camping, hunting, boating and fishing were popular pastimes. Lodges, hotels, campgrounds, attractions, and the transportation industry developed to accommodate the influx of visitors.

Until the early 1890s, Coeur d’Alene served as the railroad/steamboat transfer point for transportation between the mines in the Silver Valley to the east and the smelters they fed. In the early 1900s a major timber boom caused the population to increase 16-fold in a period of 10 years. The city continued to expand from a small frontier village into the political and business center of Kootenai County and became the County seat in 1908.

Today, Coeur d’Alene remains the center of business and recreational activities in the Inland Northwest. Coeur d’Alene’s strong presence is found in state government and is remarkable in its increased economic development over the past several years.

Some Local Place Names & How to Pronounce Them

Like many places around the nation, we have several places with unique names or unique pronunciations. Review this list and you’ll sound like a local in no time!

  • Benewah (BEN-uh-wah) – The county just south of Kootenai County. It is named after one of the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Chiefs.
  • Chatcolet (CHAT-koe-let) – The lake that connects to the south of end of Lake Coeur d’Alene. It probably derives its name from the Coeur d’Alene Indian word for lake, chatq’ele.
  • Coeur d’Alene (kore-duh-LANE) – The largest city in North Idaho and the seventh largest city in Idaho. It is named after the French settlers’ name for local Indian tribe, and means “heart of the awl.” An awl is a cutting tool and the French settlers admired the Indians here for their sharp trading sense.
  • DeSmet (deh-SMET) – A small town in Benewah County named after the Flemish Jesuit missionary who came to this area in 1842, Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet.
  • Fernan (fur-NAN) – A small village on the east side of Coeur d’Alene on the shores of the eponymous lake. It was named after John Fernan, one of the first soldiers to be stationed at Fort Sherman.
  • Huetter (HUT-ur) – This town of around 100 people is the smallest incorporated city in Idaho. It was likely named after a German settler of the same name.
  • Kootenai (KOOT-nee) – This is the largest county in North Idaho and home to Coeur d’Alene. It was named for the local Indian tribe, which were called the Ktunaxa by the Blackfoot Indian Tribe. Several meanings for the word have been given, including “people of the water” and “licking up blood.”
  • Laclede (luh-KLEED) – A small town between Priest River and Sandpoint on the Pend Oreille River named for French fur trader and Pierre Laclede, who is most well known for founding St. Louis, MO. He lived long before this area was settled by Europeans so never visited.
  • Latah (LAY-taw) – This county south of Benewah County is named for the Nez Perce Indian word meaning “a place to fish.” Its largest city and county seat is Moscow.
  • Moscow (MOSS-koe) – The largest city and county seat of Latah County was named by its founder, Samuel Neff, for his hometown of Moscow, Pennsylvania.
  • Mica (MI-kuh) – This peak on the Idaho/Washington border (there’s also a town in Washington of the same name and an area just south of Coeur d’Alene named Mica Flats) derives its name from the eponymous mineral.
  • Q’emiln (ka-MEE-lin) – This park on the south side of the Spokane River in Post Falls derives its name from the Coeur d’Alene Indian word that means “throat” and is based on an old legend that an underground river runs from Hayden Lake and empties into the Spokane River.
  • Shoshone (show-SHOWN) – This county just east of Kootenai County derives its name from the epynomous Indian Tribe and means “high growing grasses” or “sosoni” in their language.
  • St. Maries (Saint Mary’s) – This largest town and county seat of Benewah County was named by the aforementioned Fr. De Smet in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and sits on the shores of the eponymous river as well as the larger St. Joe River. I haven’t been able to find out why it is pronounced differently than it would seem phonetically.
  • Tensed (TEN-sed) – This small town is not hard to pronounce, but it has a fun history. The founders originally wanted it to be named Desmet, but the neighboring town beat them to it so they decided to spell it backwards. When it was recorded with the postal service, though, it was misspelled and thus became what it is today.