986 Area Code 🌍☎️

Boise is the capital and most populous city in Idaho with a population of 235,685 as of the 2020 census, serving as the county seat of Ada County and anchoring a metropolitan area of 846,000 people across five counties in the Treasure Valley. Located in southwestern Idaho on the Boise River, 41 miles east of the Oregon border and 110 miles north of Nevada at an elevation of 2,704 feet, the city was originally established as a military outpost in 1863 during the gold rush and grew rapidly due to its position on the Oregon Trail and proximity to mining operations. By the late 19th century, Boise had become a major commercial and transportation hub following the arrival of the railroad and development of irrigation projects that transformed the region's agriculture. Today, the city's economy is driven by technology companies like Micron Technology and Hewlett-Packard, alongside manufacturing, services, government, education, and healthcare sectors, while agriculture and food processing remain significant industries. Boise is known for its cultural attractions including the Basque Block reflecting its heritage, the Boise Art Museum, the annual Treefort Music Fest, the Idaho State Capitol, and the Boise Greenbelt offering extensive recreational opportunities. Coeur d'Alene is the county seat of Kootenai County and the most populous city in North Idaho with a population of 54,628 as of the 2020 census and an estimated 58,555 as of 2026, situated approximately 30 miles east of Spokane, Washington on the north shore of the 25-mile-long Lake Coeur d'Alene. Named after the Coeur d'Alene people, a federally recognized Native American tribe occupying 4,000,000 acres from eastern Washington to Montana, the city was founded as a fort town when General William Tecumseh Sherman sited Fort Sherman in 1878 and subsequently grew following gold and silver discoveries in the Silver Valley and the Northern Pacific Railroad's arrival in 1883. The city was incorporated on September 4, 1906, following a late 19th-century timber boom that peaked in the late 1920s, and after the Great Depression, tourism became the major economic driver by the 1980s, complementing manufacturing, retail, and service sectors. Known as the "Lake City," Coeur d'Alene is a premier tourism destination featuring the Coeur d'Alene Resort with its 0.75-mile floating boardwalk, the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course with its unique floating 14th hole, Silverwood Theme Park 20 miles north, multiple ski resorts, and one of the largest holiday light shows in the United States, plus it hosts a popular Ironman Triathlon event. The city is accessible via Interstate 90, Coeur d'Alene Airport, and Brooks Seaplane Base, and is home to the Museum of North Idaho and North Idaho College. Idaho Falls is the fourth most populous city in Idaho with a 2020 census population of 64,818 and serves as the commercial, cultural, and healthcare hub for Eastern Idaho, western Wyoming, and southern Montana. The city originated from a timber-frame toll bridge built by freighter Matt Taylor across the Snake River in the 1860s, initially known as Taylor's Crossing before being renamed Eagle Rock in 1866 after an isolated basalt island where approximately twenty eagles nested. The Utah and Northern Railway, backed by robber baron Jay Gould, reached Eagle Rock in late 1878 and constructed an 800-foot iron bridge at a cost of $30,000, transforming the settlement into a major transportation hub connecting to copper mines at Butte, Montana. Today, Idaho Falls is home to the Idaho Falls Regional Airport, College of Eastern Idaho, Museum of Idaho, Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, and the Idaho Falls Chukars baseball team, while serving as the principal city of the Idaho Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area with a 2020 population of 154,855.