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Cliff-Zone Families
54,033
Total Wage Suppression
$39.3M
State Avg Cliff Zone
18.3%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In Idaho, an estimated 54,033 families across 44 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ada County | 518,935 | 13.3% | 10,133 | $7.4M | 393% |
| Canyon County | 250,790 | 19.7% | 7,629 | $5.6M | 393% |
| Kootenai County | 181,996 | 16.6% | 4,489 | $3.3M | 368% |
| Twin Falls County | 93,734 | 22.4% | 3,848 | $2.8M | 307% |
| Bonneville County | 129,523 | 20.0% | 3,834 | $2.8M | 312% |
| Bannock County | 89,454 | 19.3% | 2,416 | $1.8M | 296% |
| Madison County | 54,618 | 23.0% | 2,339 | $1.7M | 296% |
| Bonner County | 51,049 | 21.5% | 1,634 | $1.2M | 301% |
| Bingham County | 49,664 | 20.5% | 1,623 | $1.2M | 296% |
| Nez Perce County | 42,697 | 18.5% | 1,208 | $879K | 296% |
| Payette County | 26,771 | 27.1% | 1,145 | $834K | 296% |
| Cassia County | 25,483 | 24.4% | 1,127 | $820K | 296% |
| Jerome County | 25,173 | 25.6% | 1,087 | $791K | 296% |
| Elmore County | 29,321 | 22.0% | 1,081 | $787K | 296% |
| Jefferson County | 33,154 | 19.9% | 1,061 | $772K | 312% |
| Latah County | 41,049 | 17.6% | 885 | $644K | 296% |
| Blaine County | 24,951 | 17.1% | 804 | $585K | 380% |
| Gooding County | 15,931 | 27.0% | 657 | $478K | 296% |
| Minidoka County | 22,208 | 18.0% | 655 | $477K | 296% |
| Gem County | 20,614 | 18.3% | 597 | $435K | 296% |
| Fremont County | 13,943 | 21.5% | 473 | $344K | 296% |
| Power County | 8,133 | 33.2% | 464 | $338K | 296% |
| Owyhee County | 12,503 | 24.7% | 447 | $325K | 393% |
| Idaho County | 17,432 | 20.8% | 440 | $320K | 296% |
| Franklin County | 15,056 | 18.2% | 436 | $317K | 297% |
| Washington County | 11,142 | 27.1% | 431 | $314K | 296% |
| Shoshone County | 13,785 | 23.8% | 404 | $294K | 296% |
| Benewah County | 10,142 | 21.8% | 340 | $248K | 296% |
| Boundary County | 13,172 | 17.7% | 320 | $233K | 296% |
| Caribou County | 7,162 | 21.3% | 216 | $157K | 296% |
| Clearwater County | 9,012 | 17.7% | 195 | $142K | 296% |
| Lemhi County | 8,249 | 26.5% | 183 | $133K | 296% |
| Lincoln County | 5,358 | 20.0% | 181 | $132K | 296% |
| Teton County | 12,425 | 11.7% | 175 | $127K | 316% |
| Bear Lake County | 6,650 | 18.3% | 170 | $124K | 296% |
| Boise County | 8,273 | 13.1% | 162 | $118K | 393% |
| Valley County | 12,389 | 15.5% | 159 | $116K | 296% |
| Oneida County | 4,768 | 17.6% | 152 | $111K | 296% |
| Lewis County | 3,682 | 27.3% | 136 | $99K | 296% |
| Custer County | 4,470 | 15.7% | 87 | $63K | 296% |
| Adams County | 4,744 | 18.0% | 76 | $55K | 296% |
| Butte County | 2,684 | 19.8% | 71 | $52K | 312% |
| Clark County | 849 | 39.7% | 37 | $27K | 296% |
| Camas County | 1,124 | 13.4% | 26 | $19K | 296% |
44 of 44 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.