Idahoans more pessimistic about state’s economic prospects

Kyle Pfannenstiel

(Idaho Capital Sun) Many Idahoans still think the state is headed in the right direction, but they are worried about the state’s economy, a new survey shows.

About four in 10 Idahoans — 42% — expect the state’s economic conditions to worsen over the next two years, while a quarter expect Idaho’s economy to improve, according to Boise State University’s annual Idaho Public Policy Survey released Friday.

Idahoans’ attitudes toward the state’s economic future shifted significantly since last year, with a 19-point swing away from optimism and toward pessimism, the survey showed. Roughly 29% of Idahoans expect the state’s economy to remain the same, which was similar last year.

Researchers behind the survey believe national events likely influenced Idahoans’ attitudes toward the state economy.

“The fact that you had tariffs on the top of people’s minds, we had the economic uncertainty and all of the price volatility over the summer, I think that was probably on a lot of people’s minds. And not quite knowing what was coming next is potentially … why we see more people racing for economic uncertainty,” Matthew May, survey research director for Boise State University’s School of Public Service, told reporters Friday.

But even with the economic anxiety, Idahoans still largely felt the state is headed in the right direction, with 46% of Idahoans saying they believed that compared to almost 38% of residents saying the state is on the wrong track. Those opinions didn’t change much from last year, when most Idahoans for the first time in six years said they felt the state was on the right track.

“All together, this year’s survey results reflect the delicate balance of a complex Idaho citizenry,” a report on the poll concluded. “Idahoans are split, with pluralities simultaneously believing optimistically that the state is headed in the right direction but pessimistically expecting its economy to get worse over the next two years.”

The survey, conducted Nov. 8-17, surveyed 1,000 Idaho adults who lived in 42 of the state’s 44 counties. It has a margin of error of 3.1%, indicating how much Idahoans’ actual opinions could vary from the survey findings.

The poll also shows that most Idahoans appear to support a proposed ballot initiative that would overturn Idaho’s strict abortion ban and establish reproductive health rights.