Idaho Small Business Statistics
The 13th least populated state in the US, Idaho is at the same time the 14th largest state, with an area of 83.570 square miles. It’s the largest agricultural state producing one-third of all potatoes grown in the nation. Here, you can come across every possible type of potato.
Other industries in the Gem State are food processing, lumber production, equipment, mining, tourism, and electronics. The latter promotes the growth of the technology sector and has attracted Hewlett Packard, Micron Technologies, and Sun Microsystems to Idaho.
Ranking 10th in the Forbes “Best States for Business” rating and 16th in the extended CNBC “America’s Top States for Business” rating, Idaho has a fairly competitive business climate, with living and business costs known to be lower to support smaller enterprises (SMEs).
Speaking of which, though smaller in scale, small enterprises are really big for the Idaho economy being its solid backbone for decades and representing the majority of the state business and employment landscape.
The following SME statistics will help you get an overview of the economic environment in Idaho.
Table of Content
Key Small Business Stats for Idaho
- With a GDP of $78.9 billion (reported by IBISWorld for 2022), Idaho is a smaller economy as compared to the nation’s giants such as California, Texas, and New York;
- However, since 2009, the state has been demonstrating consistent 2.6% annualized GDP growth, with a 5% increase even after a tough pandemic year in 2020 (based on Statista data);
- Real estate, manufacturing, and retail trade sectors are the biggest GDP contributors maintaining nearly 39% of the ID gross domestic product;
- Nearly 86% of the state exporters are smaller private companies. They ensure about 30% of the entire state export worth $6.2 billion;
- Idaho is home to 183.974 SMEs supporting 99.2% of the business activity in the state;
- In 2022, new establishments’ net gain is 7.943 showing a 4% growth against 2021 numbers;
- A leading SME sector is construction, with 23.121 private entities in it. It’s followed by professional, scientific, and technical services stride to stride, with 22.464 firms in it;
- Company management is a sector with the lowest SME count. It has only 112 companies. At the same time, 82 of them are firms with 20 to 499 employees;
- Small companies in ID give jobs to 347.193 workers maintaining 56.3% of the entire employment market in the state;
- In 2022, the net job gain in the SME sector is 11.947 showing a 3.5% growth against 2021;
- While nearly 75% of SMEs in the state are private firms without employees, the other 20% are employers with 1 to 19 workers;
- The minimum hourly wage rate in the state matches the federal minimum at $7.25 while the average rate is $24.79 per hour;
- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in ID is 2.5% showing a slight decrease against 2.6% in 2021 and falling far below the federal average of 3.7%.
Top 10 Industries for Small Businesses in ID
| Industry | Company Count |
|---|---|
| Construction | 23.121 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 22.464 |
| Real estate, rental, and leasing | 20.531 |
| Retail trade | 18.540 |
| Other services (excluding public administration) | 18.308 |
| Healthcare and social services | 13.884 |
| Administrative, support, and waste management | 12.763 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 9.296 |
| Entertainment and recreation | 7.678 |
| Educational services | 5.222 |
ID Small Business Demographics
- Nearly 60.000 SMEs in the state are possessed by women, and almost 95% of them are non-employer businesses;
- Men own more than 90.000 smaller companies, and more than 20% of them use hired workforce;
- The companies equally owned by men and women total around 20.000;
- Ladies account for 45.5% of the total manpower in the private business sector;
- Veterans represent 6.4% of the labor force in the state and control 8.8% of SMEs;
- Based on the US Census Bureau data, the state population is 1.9 million residents, and 93% of them are white Americans while Hispanics are the largest ethnic group among racial minorities;
- Racial minorities own 8.9% of SMEs in Idaho, with Hispanics taking the lead. The company count in numbers is as follows:
- Hispanics: 8.786;
- Asians: 2000;
- Black Americans: 942;
- American Indians and Alaska Natives: 400;
- Hawaiians and Islanders: 150.
ID Small Business Formation
- If you choose to start an LLC in Idaho or incorporate a business, you’ll be required to appoint an Idaho registered agent as an official rep of your legal entity for contacts with state and local authorities and legal mail processing;
- LLC or corporation registrations entail a state filing fee of $100 when filed online and a $120 fee while filed by mail;
- A valid corporate income tax rate in the state as of 2022 is 6.5% plus a $10 excise tax is charged when submitting the tax report;
- Personal income tax rates in the state applied to owners of pass-through LLCs fall within 1.6% - 7.4% depending on the amount of taxable income;
- Idaho state sales tax rate is 6% while counties can levy a local sales tax of up to 3%. With that, the average sales tax rate across the state is 6.074%.