Meridian, ID — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Idaho·Meridian

Ada County · Boise City · population 139,740

Growing fast
Meridian, ID
Image: Wikipedia · Meridian, Idaho
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
60
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Meridian stands

Population growing 4.4% per year.

Median home $534,732
1-year -0.3%
5-yr CAGR +1.9%
vs 5-yr peak -10.6%
Population +4.4%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-06$535k$228k$359k$491k$622k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
40/100
Car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
30/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
87/100
Excellent for remote work
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,972/mo$1,545$1,818$2,090202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent110120100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 22.6
Lean rent

At a 22.6 price-to-rent ratio, the math is starting to lean toward renting in Meridian. Owner-occupier ROI requires longer holds and the assumption that prices keep appreciating roughly at the rate of rent.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
49 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
46 · w22%
Distance from peak
43 · w18%
Population growth
90 · w16%
Rent YoY
70 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
82 · w10%
Long thesis

Meridian has held up across the cycle: home values at $534,732 with +1.9% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Meridian's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Meridian

Meridian is a city in Ada County, Idaho, with an estimated population of 139,740. It anchors the Boise City metro area. The population has grown 4.4% per year on average between 2020 and 2024 — among the faster-growing communities in the state. The median home value in Meridian is $534,732 as of 2026-04, down 0.3% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +1.9% annual growth, and the market currently sits about 11% below its 5-year peak. Rents in Meridian average $1,972 per month, up 3.8% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 60 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●People are voting with their feet: population growing 4.4% per year since 2020 — that’s faster than ~80% of US cities.
○The data is the data: Meridian has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●11% off recent peak — buyers are getting through-the-cycle pricing, not the peak.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Meridian (Wikipedia)

Meridian is a city located in Ada County, Idaho, United States. The population was 117,635 at the 2020 census, making it the second most populous city in the county and Idaho, after Boise, the state capital. Meridian is considered the state's fastest-growing city and among the fastest-growing cities in the United States.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

NicknameThe Center of the Treasure Valley
Motto"Built for business . . . designed for living"

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Ada County right now.

NWS active alerts (ID)Idaho Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Ada County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Meridian

Nampa, ID62 · RisingCaldwell, ID59 · StableKuna, ID63 · RisingEagle, ID62 · Rising

Run the numbers for Meridian

ToolCan I afford Meridian?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Meridian rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Meridian to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolMeridian cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
36° / 21°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
87° / 55°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
207
~57% of year
Annual precip
19″ rain
26″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
High
Earthquake
Moderate
Flood
Low

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Meridian listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Boise City area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
60%
Moderate climate
Median household income
$70,200
Idaho state median
Top industries (state-level)
Tech (Boise)AgricultureManufacturing

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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