That dollar amount results from a 14.3% increase from $3.75 billion four years earlier in 2021.
Year over year, the overall value of Idaho’s exports rose 7% compared to $4 billion in 2023.
Idaho ranks as America’s 9th smallest exporters by state, badly lagging the largest state competitors including Texas, California, New York state, Louisiana and Illinois.
The value of Idaho’s exports equals 0.2% of all United States’ overall exported products for 2024.
Based on research from IBIS World, Idaho’s exported products represent 4.7% of the state’s total economic output or Gross Domestic Product in 2024 ($85.7 billion).
Given Idaho’s population of 2 million people, its total $4.3 billion in 2024 exports translates to roughly $2,150 for every resident in the Gem State. That dollar metric surpasses the average $2,000 per capita in 2023.
Idaho’s unemployment rate was 3.7% at the end of July 2025, same as 3.7% one year earlier per YCharts.
Idaho’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Idaho global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Idaho.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Solar power photovoltaic semi-conductor devices: US$396.9 million (9.3% of total Idahoan exports)
- Lead ores, concentrates: $244.3 million (5.7%)
- Photographic plates, films: $241.5 million (5.6%)
- Miscellaneous items made with precious metals: $200.7 million (4.7%)
- Ammonium dihydrogenorthophosphates: $186.1 million (4.3%)
- Frozen prepared potatoes: $151.2 million (3.5%)
- Live cattle not for purebred breeding: $139.8 million (3.3%)
- Electronic controls: $101.9 million (2.4%)
- Phosphorus: $71.9 million (1.7%)
- Civilian aircraft, engines, other aircraft parts: $71.7 million (1.7%)
Idaho’s top 10 exports accounted for 42.1% of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
The strongest gainers from 2023 to 2024 among Idaho’s top 10 export categories were lead ores and concentrates (up 65.9%), live cattle not for purebred breeding (up 64.8%), frozen prepared potatoes (up 53.8%), then civilian aircraft, engines or other aircraft parts (up 37.4%).
There was a pair of year-over-year decliners among Idaho’s top 10 export products namely miscellaneous items made with precious metals (down -24.8% from 2023) and solar power photovoltaic semi-conductor devices (down -11.3%).
More Key Facts about Idaho’s International Trade
Idaho incurred an overall -US$4.65 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2024. That dollar amount reflects a 122.9% acceleration from -$2.1 billion in red ink for 2023.
Another way of saying surplus or deficit is positive or negative net exports. In a nutshell, the term “net exports” quantifies the amount by which foreign spending on a state’s goods or services exceeds or lags that same state’s spending on foreign goods or services.
Below are Idaho’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2024.
- Computer parts, accessories: $3 billion (33.9% of total Idahoan imports)
- Solid-state semiconductor storage devices: $1.9 billion (20.8%)
- Electronic integrated circuits (memories): $429.6 million (4.8%)
- Frozen prepared potatoes: $208.7 million (2.3%)
- Urea: $158.8 million (2.3%)
- Miscellaneous items made with precious metals: $134.9 million (1.8%)
- Parts of machinery for making semi-conductors: $109.7 million (1.5%)
- Oriented wood strand board: $90.7 million (1.2%)
- Colza seed oilcake, solid residues: $79.54 million (1%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $79.51 million (0.9%)
Historically, Idaho generates highly negative net exports in the international trade of technology-related products notably computer parts or accessories and electronic circuitry components. In turn, these cashflows indicate Idaho’s competitive disadvantages under those product categories.
Idaho’s Major Trade Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased 83.1% worth of the total value of products exported from Idaho during 2024.
- Canada: $1.7 billion (38.7% of total Idahoan exports)
- Taiwan: $473.4 million (11%)
- Mexico: $305.7 million (7.1%)
- Singapore: $245.9 million (5.7%)
- Japan: $208 million (4.9%)
- mainland China: $178.9 million (4.2%)
- Malaysia: $161.6 million (3.8%)
- South Korea: $116.6 million (2.7%)
- Netherlands: $109.7 million (2.6%)
- Brazil: $106.1 million (2.5%)
Idaho’s top trade partners in North America (Canada and Mexico) bought 45.8% of the overall value of goods exported from the Gem State.
That percentage compares with 32.3% for Idaho’s top customers in Asia (Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, mainland China, Malaysia and South Korea).
Idahoan Export Companies
Two Idaho-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Those two examples are listed below.
- Boise Cascade (lumber, building supplies)
- Micron Technology (semiconductor devices, flash memory, solid-state drives)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
Idaho’s capital is Boise, nicknamed “The City of Trees”.
See also Nevada’s Top 10 Exports, New Jersey’s Top 10 Exports, Missouri’s Top 10 Exports, Pennsylvania’s Top 10 Exports and Mississippi’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on September 9, 2025
Forbes, 2021 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 9, 2025
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2021 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on September 9, 2025
IBIS World, Idaho Economic Profile (gross domestic product, population). Accessed on September 9, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 9, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 9, 2025
State Symbols USA, State Nicknames. Accessed on September 9, 2025
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Idaho. Accessed on September 9, 2025
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on September 9, 2025
Wikipedia, Idaho. Accessed on September 9, 2025
Wikipedia, List of companies based in Idaho. Accessed on September 9, 2025
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on September 9, 2025
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on September 9, 2025