Idaho’s population grew ahead of the national average last year, according to numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau. The state was 13th out of the nation, with growth rate at an even one percent, which is one third of a percent above the national average.

Regional Economist for the eastern part of the state with the Idaho Department of Labor, Will Jenson, said only the statewide number is available now, but there are indicators to look at to see how different regions are doing.

He said labor force numbers can be a sort of “proxy” for changes in population and those numbers are available now. Jenson said in the last few years, from November 2010 to the same month in 2013, the work force in Teton County increased from 5,332 to 5,531 people, a four percent jump. Though from July of 2012 to July of 2013, the same period during which the state’s population numbers were calculated, the labor force did not grow at all. Jenson said that means the population in Teton County may not have either.

He cautioned that while workforce numbers are usually a pretty good indicator for population, there are certain people that are not counted in the workforce, which may throw off the correlation between the two numbers. For example, he said discouraged workers, people who have been out of work and are no longer looking for a job, are not counted. Also, people who are already retired when they move to the valley are not counted either.

Amy Dery, a real estate agent at Alta Realty in Driggs, said while there are some retirees who have moved to Teton County, Idaho, she sees more who are “not far from retiring,” with some buying second homes that may eventually become their main residence when they retire.

She said there are some factors that draw some people, retired or not, from Idaho over the nearby Wyoming Idaho border. These include parents wanting to get their children into Alta Elementary, and the fact that Wyoming has no state income tax.

Economist Jenson said the parts of the economy that are picking up, and therefore possibly attracting jobs, are healthcare, as well as tourism and retail.

Joel Carlisle, a 26-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee, who moved to the valley within the last few months, now works in retail at Habitat in Driggs.

Carlisle said he did some work at Grand Targhee when he first arrived, but is now working mainly at the ski shop. He moved to the area with a roommate who had taken a trip to Driggs last summer and fell in love with the place. Carlisle said the main reason for moving was to live in the mountains, “we talked about it for a long time.”

Employment in construction, which was hit hard in the recession, has rebounded to close to the average level for the last 10 to 15 to years, according to Jenson. Driggs Planning and Zoning administrator, Ashley Koehler, said building permits have gone up “substantially” in the last year or so and “especially for new construction.”

She said the city only records permit values for projects above $50,000 and all of the projects from 2010 to 2012 were under that amount. In 2013 the total value of building permits, including remodels and new construction, jumped to $3,327,846.

Across the nation, only 16 states had growth rates of one percent or higher, like Idaho. North Dakota grew the fastest of any state because of its shale oil boom, at a rate of 3.1 percent.

This article appeared in the Teton Valley News on 1/9/14.