Pocatello Quick Facts

•  Located along the historic Oregon trail at the mouth of a valley overlooking the Snake River Plain, Pocatello has much to offer.
•  According the Census in 2000, Pocatello has 51,466 people and adjacent community of Chubbuck has 9,700.
•  In 1834, Nathaniel Wyeth built Fort Hall in 1834 a few miles northeast of modern-day Pocatello to support the fur trade.  When the trapping faded after fur hats fell out of popular fashion, Fort Hall became a supply point for immigrants traveling the Oregon trail.
•  When gold was discovered in Idaho in 1860, many of the mining camps needed supplies from Utah.  The Pocatello area was initially used by stage and freight lines as distribution center.
•  The emerging community truly began to thrive when the Union Pacific Railroad established a line to Pocatello from Utah.
•  The name "Pocatello" comes from the name of Shoshone chief who granted the railroad a right-of-way through the Fort Hall Indian Reservation.
•  After to gold rush ended, the Snake River Plain began to support the growing of sugar beets, potatoes and grain.   Pocatello became a key shipping point.
•  Located 4,448 above sea level, Pocatello has a high mountain desert climate where clear, sunny and dry is the norm. Less than 15 inches of rain falls annually. Summers are dry and warm with the July average temperature is 72.4 degrees. During the winter, temperatures average 35.4 degrees.
•  Idaho State University, located in Pocatello has about 12,000 students participate in 124 Baccalaureate, 50 Masters and nine Doctoral programs.
•  Major employers in the area are manufacturing, mining, transportation, agriculture, medical products & medical services, processing of agricultural products, high-tech and nuclear research (The Idaho National Laboratory is located about 60 miles north), retail, recreation and tourism.
•  The cost of living in Pocatello is well below the national average for groceries, housing, utilities, and transportation.
•  Within two hours are world class resorts (Sun Valley, Jackson Hole), Yellowstone National Park, and the amenities of a major metropolitan area in Salt Lake City.  Close by are fishing, camping, hunting, hiking, biking and skiing.