Jerome Joint District, ID

Original Research by School Decision on Jerome Joint District

Jerome Joint District covers a swath of south-central Idaho, primarily centered on the city of Jerome with housing data reaching into neighboring Twin Falls, Gooding, and Wendell. The district operates seven open schools spanning pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, with an additional elementary school listed as future. The enrollment is sizable for the region, with students distributed fairly evenly across grade bands. The structure includes three elementary schools feeding into a middle school and a high school, plus two academy programs that appear to serve alternative or specialized functions within the district.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a large white minority and very small representation from other racial and ethnic groups. This is a district shaped by its agricultural community identity, and the demographic composition reflects that reality. We looked for free-or-reduced-price lunch rates, English learner figures, and special education enrollment, but those data points were not reported in the sources available, so they are left out here rather than estimated.

On state assessments, the most recent results tell a mixed story. In English language arts, proficiency is lowest in the early grades and climbs steadily as students move through middle school, with seventh and eighth graders showing the strongest performance. The pattern in mathematics runs differently. Proficiency is modest in third grade, dips through the intermediate elementary years, and then recovers somewhat in seventh and eighth grade. Science results, available only for fifth and eighth grades, sit in a middle range, with eighth graders outperforming fifth graders. Participation rates and average scale scores were not reported in the available data, which limits the picture somewhat. A parent evaluating academic outcomes may want to ask the district directly about its improvement priorities and how it supports students in the elementary years where math proficiency is weakest.

No graduation rate data was available for the district, and no nationally standardized academic context was provided. We also looked for information on advanced coursework, career and technical programs, dual-credit opportunities, and extracurricular offerings, but the program data section was empty. Civil rights data covering discipline, access, and staffing was likewise absent. These gaps mean the academic picture rests almost entirely on the state assessment results.

The housing market in the district's footprint is anchored by Jerome itself, which carries nearly all the weight in the district's weighted housing values. Home values sit below the Idaho state benchmark and modestly above the national benchmark, with a slight year-over-year appreciation. Rents are moderate and have ticked up modestly. The affordability picture favors renting over buying at current mortgage rates, with the estimated monthly mortgage exceeding rent by a meaningful margin. Surrounding communities like Gooding and Wendell show lower home values, some with slight declines, while the Twin Falls zip contributing to the district's housing data shows appreciation comparable to Jerome.

We searched for recent district-level changes such as leadership transitions, bond measures, curriculum overhauls, or facility investments, but found little of lasting impact in publicly reported sources. This does not mean nothing is happening, only that the available record is thin.

What emerges from the assembled evidence is a district serving a working agricultural community with a majority-Hispanic student body, steady but modest housing costs, and state assessment results that show real improvement in the upper middle grades alongside weaker elementary math performance. Families considering this district would benefit from direct conversations with school staff about academic support in the early grades, what the academy programs offer, and what graduation and college or career readiness looks like at Jerome High School.

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District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

4,078

Grades

PK–12

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 58%

Black 0%

White 40%

Asian 0%

Two+ 1%

Am. Indian / AK Native 0%

Hawaiian / Pac. Isl. 0%

Schools in this District

8 schools are officially reported under this district.

FALLS CITY ACADEMY

HORIZON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

FRONTIER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Academic Performance

Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards, by grade.

Mathematics

6 grades reported

24%

Grade 3

19%

Grade 4

18%

Grade 5

17%

Grade 6

28%

Grade 7

26%

Grade 8

English Language Arts

6 grades reported

16%

Grade 3

22%

Grade 4

30%

Grade 5

27%

Grade 6

42%

Grade 7

37%

Grade 8

Science

2 grades reported

26%

Grade 5

32%

Grade 8

Housing & Real Estate

Data as of April 2026 | District-weighted from constituent ZIP codes

Home Values

Typical home value$401,522

Year-over-year change+2.6%

Range across 4 ZIP codes$324K to $404K

vs. state typical0.84x

vs. national typical1.09x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (4 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
83338	Jerome	$404K	+2.7%	96.5%
83355	Wendell	$333K	-0.3%	2.3%
83301	Twin Falls	$371K	+2.7%	0.9%
83330	Gooding	$324K	-0.1%	0.3%

Rental Market

Typical monthly rent$1,545/mo

Year-over-year change+3.7%

Range across 2 ZIP codes$1,545 to $1,589/mo

Rent trend (12 months)

ZIP code rents (2 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Rent/mo	YoY	Weight
83338	Jerome	$1,545	—	96.5%
83301	Twin Falls	$1,589	+3.7%	0.9%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$2,026/mo

Home price / national median income4.8x

Annual rent / national median income22.1%

Est. mortgage exceeds rent by$481/mo

Comparison

State typical home value$477,506 (+1.1% YoY)

National typical home value$368,198 (+0.6% YoY)

State ZHVI trend (12 months)

National ZHVI trend (12 months)

Economic Context

30-year fixed mortgage rate6.48%

National unemployment rate4.3%

National median household income$83,730

CPI: Rent of shelter (index)447.05

30-year fixed mortgage rate (12 months)

National unemployment rate (12 months)

National median household income (12 months)

CPI: Rent of shelter (index) (12 months)

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index (Zillow Group), Realtor.com via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED)

Data Currently Unavailable

Civil Rights Data (CRDC)

This profile is derived exclusively from publicly available federal and state datasets. It may not reflect the most current information available. We encourage parents and families to supplement this data with information published directly on the school’s website, which may include more recent figures, additional programs, or updated enrollment data.