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- 911Population
About Arco
Arco is a city in Butte County, where it is the county seat. About 911 people lived here in 2024, by Census estimate. It sits at about 5,300 feet, 64 miles west of Idaho Falls in a straight line.
Places listed for this area include Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve and Lava River Cave.
Moving to Arco
Start with homes, jobs and local services in and around Arco.
Cost of living
This is the Idaho Falls metro price level, which covers Arco. A basket that costs $100 in the U.S. costs $94.41 here, under the U.S. average by 5.6%.
Open the calculator- Homes on the mapSearch homes for sale near town
- Public schools2 public schools
- DMV and utilitiesCounty offices, and gas service only where a utility names this town
- Local services2 local businesses
- Moving to Idaho checklistDriver's license, vehicle registration, voter registration and more, from official Idaho sources
Public schools in Arco
All 2District, enrollment, and students per teacher from the federal 2024-25 directory. No ratings.
- Arco Elementary School
Butte County Joint District · PK-6
186 students · 14.3 students per teacher
- Butte County Middle/high School
Butte County Joint District · 7-12
186 students · 11.6 students per teacher
Services for Arco
All servicesDMV counters are the county offices. A gas utility appears only when its public list names Arco.
- Arco · Driver's licenses
256 W Grand Ave Arco, ID 83213
· Mon. - Fri. 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
- Arco · Vehicles
205 W Grand Ave Arco, ID 83213-0157 PO Box 157
· Mon. - Thur. 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
No natural gas utility on the official town lists names Arco.
Allergy ratings in Arco
What a typical year looks like: Low, Moderate or High for each pollen season, plus wildfire smoke. Typical, general guidance. It is not medical advice. Pollen and smoke change with the weather every year, and what bothers you depends on what you are allergic to. See an allergist for testing.
Spring trees
March to June
Moderate
Rating: Moderate, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High, Very High. Peaks in AprilEarly-summer grass
Late May to July
High
Rating: High, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High, Very High. Late May to early JulyFall weeds and sagebrush
August to October
High
Rating: High, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High, Very High. Peaks in SeptemberWildfire smoke
Mostly July to September
Low
Rating: Low, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High. 0.6 days a year with air quality over 100. Worst year 3 (2021).
Regional rating. Arco has no pollen counter. These pollen ratings come from the Twin Falls station in the Magic Valley, 94 miles away. Arco sits well above that station, so timing and levels can differ.
How these ratings are worked out
Pollen is rated on the National Allergy Bureau bands for the grains of pollen in a cubic meter of air. Trees: Low under 15, Moderate 15 to 89, High 90 to 1,499. Weeds: Low under 10, Moderate 10 to 49, High 50 to 499. Grass: Low under 5, Moderate 5 to 19, High 20 to 199. The band is the one reached on the busiest quarter of counted days. A rating is typical, not a forecast: one wet or windy year can move it.
Spring trees, Moderate. Twin Falls NAB station, 757 counted days in 2003 to 2024: on the busiest quarter of days the tree count was 54 grains per cubic meter or more, which the NAB bands call Moderate. On the busiest tenth of days it was 125 or more.
Early-summer grass, High. No grass counts are published for Twin Falls. The Treasure Valley figure is used: the same Snake River Plain, and Twin Falls tree and weed counts match Boise's pattern. The NAB grass bands: Low under 5, Moderate 5 to 19, High 20 to 199, Very High 200 or more grains per cubic meter.
Fall weeds and sagebrush, High. Twin Falls NAB station, 536 counted days in 2004 to 2023: on the busiest quarter of days the weed count was 71 grains per cubic meter or more, which the NAB bands call High. On the busiest tenth of days it was 114 or more.
Wildfire smoke, Low. The average number of days a year the EPA's air quality index passed 100 ("unhealthy for sensitive groups" or worse), 2021-2025. Under 3 days is Low, 3 to 9 Moderate, 10 or more High. That grouping is ours, not the EPA's. Butte County has its own EPA air monitor. The count includes any cause, but across Idaho's monitors 86% of those days fell in July to September and 94% were fine particles (PM2.5), which is what wildfire smoke is made of (570 county-days, 2021-2025).
Not rated. Mold: no published mold spore counts for Idaho towns are in the data used, so there is no mold rating. House dust, pets and food allergies are outside this rating.
Sources
- National Allergy Bureau daily pollen counts, CDC release 2003 to 2024 (Boise, Twin Falls, Coeur d'Alene stations)
- NAB pollen level bands (grains per cubic meter)
- The Allergy Group, Boise: Southwest Idaho pollen seasons (clinic counts since 1971)
- EPA AirData: annual AQI by county
Today
Pollen data through 2003-2024, smoke data 2021-2025. Checked 2026-10-03.
Map of Arco
Parks, new home communities, homes for sale and stays listed in town. Select a pin to open it.
- Arco
- Park
Parks in Arco
1 named park on OpenStreetMap.
- Bottolfsen Park
Parks, trails and things to do
All of IdahoPlaces in and around Arco, nearest first: everything tied to Arco plus anything within 15 miles of town.
Things to do (nearest 18 of 19)
Caves
- Lava River Cavecave16 mi
- Tom Thumb Tunnelcave16 mi
- Last Chance Cavecave16 mi
- Horseshoe Cavecave16 mi
- Needles Cavecave17 mi
- Beauty Cavecave17 mi
- Boy Scout Cavecave17 mi
- Dewdrop Cavecave18 mi
- Indian Cavecave18 mi
Viewpoints
- Scenic Overlook Craters of the Moonviewpoint17 mi
- Inferno Cone Viewpointviewpoint18 mi
- Big Sink Overlookviewpoint19 mi
Historic sites
- Tepee Circleshistoric site18 mi
Attractions
- Arco Rodeo Groundsattraction0.3 mi
- Lava Fieldattraction · near Butte City12 mi
- Natural Archattraction16 mi
- Lava Treesattraction19 mi
Visitor centers
- Robert Limbert Visitor Centervisitor center18 mi
Parks
- Craters of the Moon National Monumentrecreation area18 mi
- Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preservenational park site19 mi
- 0.3 mi
- Moore City Parknear Moore7.5 mi
- Appendicitis Hill Wilderness Study Areanature reserve · near Lost River10 mi
- Craters of the Moon Wildernessnature reserve20 mi
Trails
- Natural Arch Trail1 mi long · near Moore7.4 mi
- Climber's Path0.6 mi long · near Butte City13 mi
- Mortal Earth Approach0.4 mi long · near Butte City13 mi
- Devils Orchard Nature Trail0.5 mi long17 mi
- Caves Trail0.5 mi long18 mi
- North Crater Flow Trail0.3 mi long18 mi
- North Crater Trail1.8 mi long19 mi
- Broken Top Loop Trail1.5 mi long19 mi
- Wilderness Trail4.4 mi long19 mi
- Tree Molds Trail1.3 mi long20 mi
Distances are straight-line miles. From state and federal agency pages, the USGS place names list and OpenStreetMap contributors. Checked October 2, 2026. Check the official page for hours, fees and closures before you go.
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