Carey, ID

Carey is a Blaine County city in the Little Wood River Valley, a farm town sitting between southern Idaho's lava fields and the bigger recreation country of the Wood River Valley. The 2020 census counted 685 residents. A Latter-day Saint colony established the community in 1884, and the city was named for pioneer settler James Carey. That origin still fits the place: Carey is agricultural first, with the Blaine County Fairgrounds and rodeo grounds giving the town a regular burst of countywide attention.

ATTRChris Light / CC BY-SA 4.0

The surrounding map is unusually full for a town this size. Carey Lake, Silver Creek, the Little Wood River, and the Craters of the Moon country are all within the broader orbit, while U.S. 20, 26, and 93 carry traffic through town. Carey School serves local children from kindergarten through high school, keeping the town's daily life centered close to home. Carey's local scoop is a small Idaho farm city with fairground energy, volcanic country nearby, and three highways pointing in different directions.