Within the Potato State of Idaho is Blackfoot, considered the Potato Capital of the World. Home to the Idaho Potato Museum, this small community of 13,000 along the Snake River Plain is beloved by its residents for its slow pace and hometown feel. “I love the people here, and there’s not much traffic here. It feels like it’s a little behind everybody, but I like those towns,” says Ann Ogden, associate broker at Western Realty and lifelong Blackfoot resident. Blackfoot offers a rural lifestyle with quiet streets, dirt paths and a friendly community. “[Residents] like the small town, and many people want to live in the county,” Ogden adds. Blackfoot hosts the annual Eastern Idaho State Fair, a weeklong event with rodeos, carnival games and fair food.
Like the rest of Idaho, Blackfoot’s population is growing; the population is up about 5% compared to 2020, fueled by people moving here from out-of-state. “I know within the last two to three years, we’ve had so many people from California move in. Then there are also kids who grew up here and want to stay,” Ogden says. Most residents in Blackfoot commute to Idaho Falls; one major employer there is the Idaho National Laboratory, a government research center called “the Site” by locals. Ogden also noted that agriculture is a major industry in Blackfoot, with the city being a major producer of potato and wheat.
Get your selfie in front of the Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot.
Kids will enjoy the amusing exhibits inside the Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot.
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Unique mom and pops on Main Street and West Bridge Street
Locals can find a selection of shops around Main and West Bridge streets. “Our main restaurants are mom-and-pop shops, but we do have regular chains,” Ogden says. Restaurants serve Mexican food, barbecue, Chinese cuisine and Italian food, and downtown retailers include gift and antique sellers. There is a Walmart Supercenter in the city for essentials, and Idaho Falls, 25 miles north, has other big box stores and the Grand Teton Mall.
Some of Blackfoot’s most prized assets are its museums and movie theaters. The Blackfoot Movie Theatre screens the latest Hollywood releases, and on Main Street is the Potato Museum, marked by a giant potato out front. “The Potato Museum has all kinds of potatoes. There, you can get fresh-cut French Fries,” Ogden says.
Find dozens of locally owned retailers in downtown Blackfoot.
Casa Garcia offers authentic ingredients and other cultural amenities in downtown Blackfoot.
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Host of the Eastern State Idaho Fair
Every year, Blackfoot hosts the Eastern Idaho State Fair. The nine-day fair attracts over 250,000 people to the region. “We have rodeos and relays, demolition derbies, carnival rides and lots of local foods,” Ogden says. Sweets include Tiger Ears, a scone-like pastry topped with cinnamon sugar and honey butter popular in southeast Idaho. The fair also has food and livestock competitions, and since this event draws significant crowds, residents tend to rent out their parking spaces and lawns. The annual Vintage Market Days commemorates the spring season in Blackfoot; hundreds gather for a weekend’s worth of food trucks, vintage finds and live music.
1900s-style homes and modern townhouses
Housing in Blackfoot isn’t as expansive as Idaho Falls or Pocatello. Homes here typically sell after 51 days. Properties closest to downtown tend to be the city’s oldest, including bungalows and brick houses from the early 20th century. Newer properties like modern townhouses and traditional ramblers are situated along the city’s edge outskirts. “We’re definitely growing; there are many subdivisions going in just out of town, and they’re popular,” Ogden says. The properties with the most expensive homes are outside the city limits as larger two-story homes on acres of land. The median price for a single-family home is $349,000, which is $41,000 less than Idaho Falls.
Homes from the 1930s can be found throughout the downtown area of Blackfoot.
Find sturdy stone cottages and bungalows in downtown Blackfoot.
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Plentiful water activities at Jensen Lake
The Greater Blackfoot Area Greenbelt, a mixed-use trail similar to the one in Idaho Falls, is located in the northwest corner of the city. The 6.5-mile trail passes the Snake River, several parks, solar lighting and bridges. Along the trail is Jensen Grove Park, home to Jensen Lake, a popular place for fishing, water skiing, and swimming. Baseball and soccer fields are scattered around the city, and golfers can tee up at the 18-hole Blackfoot Golf Course. Locals are within a 100-mile drive from Bridger-Teton National Forest and the Grand Teton National Park. Both offer challenging hiking trails and winter activities like cross-country skiing and snowmobiling.
Test your game at the challenging Blackfoot golf course in north Blackfoot.
Blackfoot Golf Course offers 18 holes of challenging championship golf in northern Blackfoot.
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Two major highways allow for easy commuting
Two major roadways run through Blackfoot. Interstate 15 travels north and south toward Pocatello and Idaho Falls, which are both 25 miles away. Highway 91, or Yellowstone Highway, is another roadway that travels north and south to those same cities. The city doesn’t have any active public transportation or a commercial airport; the nearest airport is the Idaho Falls Regional Airport, 30 miles away. This airport provides nonstop flights to 12 cities. Bingham Memorial Hospital is near the area’s shopping district in the event of an emergency.
All students attend Blackfoot School District
Students are zoned for the Blackfoot School District, which earns a B-minus from Niche. The district consists of 11 schools: seven elementary schools, a sixth-grade school, a seventh- and eighth-grade school and a high school. Niche also ranks the district as the most diverse district in the state.
Students in Blackfoot attend the Blackfoot school district.
Watch musicals plays ballets and more at the Blackfoot Performing Arts Center in Blackfoot.
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Crime down by almost 40%
According to the Idaho State Police Department, Blackfoot saw a 37% decrease in crime from 2022 to 2023. The most common offenses were drug-related. The Idaho State Police also reports that the city’s crime rate is 33% higher than the state’s. The Blackfoot Police Department published a Strategic Plan in 2024 with seven goals, including enhancing community partnerships, increasing staffing and efficiency and upgrading technology. Ogden noted that because of the city’s location on the south end of the state, the weather is different compared to cities like Boise. “We are in the Eastern Idaho Valley, so we’re warmer than other areas,” she adds. “We can get two to three inches of snow on the ground or two to three feet.”
Written By
Courtney Murphy
Photography Contributed By
Chad Jackson
Video By
Timothy Cerva
Interested in learning more about homes in this area?
Reach out to
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an experienced agent in this area.
On average, homes in Blackfoot, ID sell after 61 days on the market compared to the national average of 52 days. The median sale price for homes in Blackfoot, ID over the last 12 months is $329,000, up 4% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months.
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