Newcomers Still Flock To Idaho, Kootenai County Transportation Department Figures Keep Tabs On Transplants

Kootenai County saw the second highest number of newcomers to Idaho during 1995, according to a report from the Idaho Transportation Department.

Although the number of Idaho fledglings as a whole was down somewhat in 1995, about 140 newcomers picked up Idaho licenses every workday in courthouses across the state.

The department reported this week that 33,808 out-of-staters traded their old driver’s licenses for Idaho licenses last year.

That was down from 36,112 in 1994, 35,763 in 1993 and even 34,880 in 1992.

The annual statistics have become a popular method of tracking Idaho’s growth.

However, “They’re by no means any kind of a survey at the border,” Transportation Department spokesman Bill Dermody said.

Nor does it take into account the people leaving Idaho.

Ada County saw the most newcomers - 8,576 - with Kootenai County a distant second at 4,692, said Jim Witherell, senior research analyst. Canyon County was third with 2,785.

California again accounted for more Idaho newcomers than any other state, according to the transportation department. However, the surge of Californians is slowing.

More than 8,400 Californians picked up Idaho licenses in 1995, down from 1994 when that number approached 10,400. In 1993 the surge crested above 11,200.

Last year, 1,457 Californian’s got drivers licenses in Kootenai County. But Washington residents came in a close second at 1,422.

Department of Commerce spokeswoman Georgia Smith was not too alarmed by the decrease in newcomers.

“As the national economy becomes healthy … people are more content to stay where they are,” she said. “They’re not laid off. They’re not seeking job opportunities elsewhere.”

However, “The population that is coming is getting younger,” Witherell said, explaining, “These are job seekers rather than job producers.”

In years past, the second largest age group to move to Idaho was between the ages of 40 and 49. In 1995, the second largest group was between ages 20 and 29.

Still, migration from outside Idaho is just one of several statistics the Commerce Department uses to gauge the state’s economy. And most of the other numbers are encouraging, Smith said.

Idaho construction hit a record $1.65 billion in 1995. Non-farm related exports also were projected at $1.65 billion in 1995, also a record. Personal income continues to grow, and Idaho’s population is expected to grow by 15,000 a year through 1998.

, DataTimes