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Idaho well yields by county: where wells produce the most water

Canyon County reports the highest median yield in Idaho at 50 gpm; Clearwater the lowest at 10 gpm. No county has a median below the ~6 gpm usually planned for a single-family home — but in 17 of 44 counties, one well in ten does.

Median reported yield for every county, and the places where a thin well is a normal outcome rather than bad luck.

By WellDepthPublished

Depth gets the attention; yield decides what you can do

Depth decides what the well costs. Yield decides whether it supports what you are planning. They are different numbers and they do not track each other — the deepest counties in Idaho are also among the lowest-yielding.

Reported yield is measured in gallons per minute at the time of drilling. 123,761 of 208,243 Idaho records carry one, the lowest completeness of the three main fields.

Median reported yield by county, highest first
#CountyMedian yieldTypical range (10th–90th)Records
1Canyon50 gpm20–150 gpm14,374
2Ada41 gpm16–150 gpm10,162
3Blaine40 gpm15–150 gpm3,014
4Butte40 gpm15–400 gpm720
5Power35 gpm12–2000 gpm510
6Bingham30 gpm15–80 gpm4,410
7Gem30 gpm10–85 gpm3,776
8Payette30 gpm15–100 gpm2,987
9Gooding30 gpm15–829 gpm665
10Washington30 gpm8–100 gpm2,000
11Custer30 gpm10–78 gpm1,721
12Caribou30 gpm7–200 gpm885
13Oneida30 gpm15–150 gpm997
14Clark30 gpm6–1982 gpm157
15Twin Falls25 gpm10–259 gpm1,866
16Bonneville25 gpm5–80 gpm1,531
17Cassia25 gpm15–600 gpm2,769
18Minidoka25 gpm15–43 gpm1,809
19Bannock25 gpm10–70 gpm2,618
20Elmore25 gpm7–100 gpm2,199
21Madison25 gpm5–80 gpm1,540
22Franklin25 gpm9–75 gpm1,048
23Bear Lake25 gpm10–76 gpm713
24Jefferson20 gpm5–50 gpm2,655
25Fremont20 gpm5–50 gpm2,230
26Jerome20 gpm10–107 gpm736
27Teton20 gpm5–50 gpm1,595
28Owyhee20 gpm6–100 gpm2,331
29Nez Perce20 gpm5–75 gpm1,649
30Adams20 gpm8–60 gpm1,581
31Lincoln20 gpm10–100 gpm305
32Camas20 gpm7–120 gpm580
33Valley19.5 gpm4–50 gpm6,366
34Lemhi18 gpm6–40 gpm2,293
35Kootenai15 gpm3–50 gpm9,677
36Idaho15 gpm3–50 gpm4,229
37Boise15 gpm3–50 gpm2,621
38Benewah15 gpm4–60 gpm2,289
39Lewis15 gpm4–50 gpm513
40Boundary12 gpm2–50 gpm1,655
41Shoshone12 gpm2–60 gpm827
42Bonner10 gpm2–40 gpm12,284
43Latah10 gpm2–50 gpm3,268
44Clearwater10 gpm2–40 gpm1,606

Yields of exactly zero are excluded: in the source data a zero can mean an artesian well or simply that nobody recorded a figure, and the two cannot be told apart.

The counties where thin wells are normal

A commonly cited benchmark for a single-family home is about 6 gallons per minute. No county in Idaho has a median below that. But in 17 of the 44 counties, one well in ten came in under it.

Boundary (10th percentile 2 gpm), Shoshone (10th percentile 2 gpm), Bonner (10th percentile 2 gpm), Latah (10th percentile 2 gpm), Clearwater (10th percentile 2 gpm) lead that list. These are the counties where a low-yield well is a normal outcome rather than bad luck, and where storage, a cistern or a low-yield pump setup is worth pricing before you buy.

Canyon County reports the highest median at 50 gpm; Clearwater the lowest at 10 gpm.

What a yield figure does not promise

A yield is a measurement taken on one day, usually at the end of drilling. It can change with the season, with how hard the well is pumped, and over years as an aquifer is drawn on.

It also says nothing about water quality. A high-yield well can need treatment and a low-yield one may not.

Ask about these

  • Ask a driller what yield is realistic for the depth they expect here, and what the options are if it comes in low.

What a county figure cannot tell you

A county median describes the wells people drilled and reported, not the ground under one parcel. Groundwater varies over short distances, and these records sit on other people’s property.

Use a county figure to know which questions to ask and roughly what to budget. Use the records near a specific point to know how much that budget could move. Neither is a substitute for a written quote from a licensed Idaho driller.

Sources

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