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- 921Population
About Cottonwood
Cottonwood is a city in Idaho County. About 921 people lived here in 2024, by Census estimate. It sits at about 3,500 feet, 39 miles southeast of Lewiston in a straight line.
Places listed for this area include Cottonwood Butte Ski Hill and Cooper's Ferry / Nipéhe.
Moving to Cottonwood
Start with homes, jobs and local services in and around Cottonwood.
Cost of living
Cottonwood is outside the Idaho metros with a 2024 federal price figure, so this uses the Idaho statewide level. A basket that costs $100 in the U.S. costs $95.49 here, under the U.S. average by 4.5%.
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 servicesIdaho businesses directory
- Moving to Idaho checklistDriver's license, vehicle registration, voter registration and more, from official Idaho sources
Public schools in Cottonwood
All 2District, enrollment, and students per teacher from the federal 2024-25 directory. No ratings.
- Prairie Elementary School
Cottonwood Joint District · PK-6
222 students · 13.1 students per teacher
- Prairie Jr/sr High School
Cottonwood Joint District · 7-12
204 students · 15.7 students per teacher
Services for Cottonwood
All servicesDMV counters are the county offices. A gas utility appears only when its public list names Cottonwood.
- Grangeville · Vehicles
320 W Main, Rm 1 Grangeville, ID 83530-1993
· Mon. - Fri. 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
- Grangeville · Driver's licenses
320 W Main St Grangeville, ID 83530
· Mon. - Fr. 8:30 AM - 4:45 PM
No natural gas utility on the official town lists names Cottonwood.
Allergy ratings in Cottonwood
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
High
Rating: High, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High, Very High. Peaks in JuneEarly-summer grass
Late May to July
High
Rating: High, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High, Very High. June to mid-JulyFall weeds and sagebrush
August to October
Moderate
Rating: Moderate, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High, Very High. Peaks in AugustWildfire smoke
Mostly July to September
Moderate
Rating: Moderate, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High. 8.4 days a year with air quality over 100. Worst year 16 (2021).
Regional rating. Cottonwood has no pollen counter. These pollen ratings come from the Coeur d'Alene station in the North Idaho, 114 miles away.
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, High. Coeur d'Alene NAB station, 294 counted days in 2010 to 2023: on the busiest quarter of days the tree count was 106 grains per cubic meter or more, which the NAB bands call High. On the busiest tenth of days it was 183 or more.
Early-summer grass, High. The NAB station in Coeur d'Alene reported grass in the High range in June 2017 (WSU), and the Spokane NAB station read 120 grains per cubic meter in late May 2026 (Spokesman-Review). NAB calls 20 to 199 High. Two reports, not a long record. 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, Moderate. Coeur d'Alene NAB station, 74 counted days in 2010 to 2022: on the busiest quarter of days the weed count was 16 grains per cubic meter or more, which the NAB bands call Moderate. On the busiest tenth of days it was 28 or more. That is a short record, so treat it as a rough guide.
Wildfire smoke, Moderate. 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. Idaho 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)
- WSU News, June 14, 2017: NAB station in Coeur d'Alene reads grass in the high range
- The Spokesman-Review, May 27, 2026: Spokane grass count 120 grains per cubic meter
- EPA AirData: annual AQI by county
Today
Pollen data through 2003-2024, smoke data 2021-2025. Checked 2026-10-03.
Map of Cottonwood
Parks, trails and things to do
All of IdahoPlaces in and around Cottonwood, nearest first: everything tied to Cottonwood plus anything within 15 miles of town.
Things to do
Ski areas
- Cottonwood Butte Ski Hillski area5.4 mi
Historic sites
- Cooper's Ferry / Nipéhehistoric site10 mi
- Shorts Bar Pictographshistoric site · near White Bird14 mi
- Morris Placerhistoric site16 mi
Attractions
- Idaho County Fairgroundsattraction0.5 mi
Day use and picnic areas
- Pine Bar Recreation Siterecreation site · near White Bird11 mi
Parks
- Snowhole Rapids Wilderness Study Areanature reserve10 mi
- Eimers-Soltman Parknear Grangeville13 mi
- Soroptomist Parknear Grangeville14 mi
- City Parknear Craigmont14 mi
- Pioneer Parknear Grangeville14 mi
- Vollmer Parknear Craigmont14 mi
- Lions Club Parknear Grangeville14 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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