Nez Perce County is a county in Idaho, United States, at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers on the Washington border. It had a population of 42,090 at the 2020 census and covers 856 square miles (2,220 km2) centred near 46\u00b020\u2032N 116\u00b045\u2032W.<\/p>\n
Lewiston is the county seat, and its postal code is 83501. The county has four incorporated cities, one census-designated place, and several dozen unincorporated rural communities. It observes Pacific time and carries FIPS code 16069.<\/p>\n
Nez Perce County’s population is heavily concentrated in and around Lewiston, its only sizable city; the rest of the county is a scatter of small farm towns, rail sidings, and rural locales, many dating to the wheat-and-timber settlement era of the 1880s\u20131900s. Incorporated places are labelled City<\/strong> in the table below; CDP<\/strong> marks a Census Bureau-defined unincorporated place; Unincorp.<\/strong> covers rural communities with no formal municipal government.<\/p>\n Lewiston Orchards sits directly southeast of Lewiston’s city limits and functions as a residential extension of the city rather than a separate town; the Census Bureau tracks it as its own CDP. North Lapwai and North Lewiston are likewise small residential clusters adjoining, rather than inside, their namesake cities.<\/p>\n The county’s many small rural locales — Spalding, Waha, Gifford, Lenore, and the rest — are served by mail routes out of these four post offices rather than carrying ZIP codes of their own.<\/p>\n Nez Perce County sits at the point where the Clearwater River meets the Snake River, the lowest elevation in Idaho, right at Lewiston. West of the rivers the land drops into the Lewiston Basin; east and south it climbs onto the Camas Prairie and the wheat country of the Palouse. The Clearwater and Snake together define the county’s western and northern edges before the land rises into rolling grain fields further inland.<\/p>\n The county borders Latah County<\/a> to the north, Clearwater County to the northeast, Lewis County to the east, Idaho County<\/a> to the southeast, Wallowa County, Oregon<\/a> to the southwest, Asotin County, Washington<\/a> to the west, and Whitman County, Washington<\/a> to the northwest.<\/p>\n Nez Perce County had 42,090 residents at the 2020 census, the great majority in and around Lewiston (34,203) and, on paper, the Lapwai townsite (1,169), seat of the Nez Perce Tribe’s reservation government. Median household income in the county runs below the Idaho median of $74,942, reflecting a mixed timber, farm, and manufacturing wage base rather than the tech and services income of the Boise metro. Population density works out to roughly 50 people per square mile of land, concentrated almost entirely in the Lewiston valley.<\/p>\n Lewiston’s Clearwater Paper Corporation mill, one of the largest employers in north-central Idaho, anchors the county’s industrial base alongside grain shipping — Lewiston is the farthest inland seaport on the West Coast, reached by barge via the Snake and Columbia rivers. Wheat, lentils, and dry peas from the Camas Prairie and Palouse move through county elevators, and light manufacturing and ammunition production have grown around Lewiston in recent years. Lapwai serves as the administrative seat of the Nez Perce Tribe, whose government and associated services are a major local employer on the reservation.<\/p>\n The area was organized as a county in 1861 under Washington Territory, then reorganized in 1864 after Idaho became its own territory. It is named for the Nez Perce (Nim\u00edipuu) people, whose reservation, established by an 1855 treaty and reduced by an 1863 treaty, covers much of the county. Lapwai was the site of the Nez Perce Indian Agency and, in 1877, the starting point of the Nez Perce War, when Chief Joseph and other bands fled toward Montana rather than be confined to a shrunken reservation. Lewiston itself was Idaho’s first territorial capital, in 1863, before the seat of government moved to Boise the following year.<\/p>\n US Highway 12 follows the Clearwater River through the county to Lewiston, where it meets US Highway 95 running north-south along the Camas Prairie corridor; Idaho Highway 3 branches south from Lewiston toward Craigmont.<\/p>\n Lewiston–Nez Perce County Regional Airport (LWS) offers commercial service to Seattle and other hubs.<\/p>\n Where is Nez Perce County?<\/strong> What is the population of Nez Perce County?<\/strong> How big is Nez Perce County?<\/strong> What is the county seat of Nez Perce County?<\/strong> How many towns are in Nez Perce County?<\/strong>\n
\n Place<\/th>\n Type<\/th>\n Pop.<\/th>\n ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Lewiston<\/td>\n City · seat<\/td>\n 34,203<\/td>\n 83501<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Lapwai<\/td>\n City<\/td>\n 1,169<\/td>\n 83540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Culdesac<\/td>\n City<\/td>\n 413<\/td>\n 83524<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Peck<\/td>\n City<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n 83545<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Lewiston Orchards<\/td>\n CDP<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n 83501<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Spalding<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Waha<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gifford<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Lenore<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Myrtle<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Southwick<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Jacques<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Joseph<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Agatha<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Arrow<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Beeman<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Big George<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Bundy<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Cameron<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Cherrylane<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Chesley<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Eugene<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Forebay<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n German Settlement<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gurney<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Hatwai<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Leland<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Leon<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Melrose<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n North Lapwai<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n North Lewiston<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Sweetwater<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Taplin<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Transfer<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Valley View Heights<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Webb<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Willola<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Woodside<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Zaza<\/td>\n Unincorp.<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n
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Geography<\/h2>\n
Demographics<\/h2>\n
Economy & Local Life<\/h2>\n
History<\/h2>\n
Getting There<\/h2>\n
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Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n
It is in west-central Idaho, on the Washington and Oregon borders, at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers.<\/p>\n
42,090 at the 2020 census.<\/p>\n
856 square miles (2,220 km2), of which 848 square miles are land.<\/p>\n
Lewiston.<\/p>\n
Four incorporated cities — Lewiston, Lapwai, Culdesac, and Peck — plus the Lewiston Orchards CDP and several dozen small unincorporated communities.<\/p>\n