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Treasure Idaho

Northern Idaho

Tensed, Idaho

Benewah County96 people

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  • 96Population

About Tensed

Tensed is a city in Benewah County. About 96 people lived here in 2024, by Census estimate. It sits at about 2,600 feet, 30 miles north of Moscow in a straight line.

Places listed for this area include McCroskey State Park and the Palouse Divide Nordic Ski Area.

Moving to Tensed

Start with homes, jobs and local services in and around Tensed.

Cost of living

Tensed 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%.

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Services for Tensed

All services

DMV counters are the county offices. A gas utility appears only when its public list names Tensed.

No natural gas utility on the official town lists names Tensed.

Allergy ratings in Tensed

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 June
  • Early-summer grass

    Late May to July

    High

    Rating: High, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High, Very High. June to mid-July
  • Fall weeds and sagebrush

    August to October

    Moderate

    Rating: Moderate, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High, Very High. Peaks in August
  • Wildfire smoke

    Mostly July to September

    Moderate

    Rating: Moderate, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High. 6.6 days a year with air quality over 100. Worst year 14 (2021).

Regional rating. Tensed has no pollen counter. These pollen ratings come from the Coeur d'Alene station in the North Idaho, 36 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. Benewah 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

Today

Pollen data through 2003-2024, smoke data 2021-2025. Checked 2026-10-03.

Map of Tensed

Parks, trails and things to do

All of Idaho

Places in and around Tensed, nearest first: everything tied to Tensed plus anything within 15 miles of town.

Things to do

Viewpoints

Ski areas

Parks

Trails (nearest 12 of 18)

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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Moving checklist: setting up a home in Tensed

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Tensed, Idaho FAQ

Where is Tensed, Idaho?

Tensed is in Benewah County, Idaho. Nearby towns include Plummer (12 mi), Onaway (16 mi), Potlatch (17 mi).

What is the population of Tensed, Idaho?

Tensed has a population of about 96 (U.S. Census).

Moving guide

Moving to Idaho

A short guide from Treasure Idaho: regions, seasons, jobs, new-home communities, and the questions worth asking before you pick a town. Download it, then poke around the cities and the map.

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