Rigby is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Jefferson County,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, United States. The population was 5,038 at the 2020 census, up from 3,945 in 2010.

History

Native Americans from the

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshon ...

, Bannock

Blackfeet The Blackfeet Nation (, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Montana. Tribal members primarily belong ...

, and

Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...

tribes were the first inhabitants of the region. Rigby was founded by George Albert Cordon, Omer Samuel Call, Josiah Call, and Cyril Josiah Call members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

in 1884 and incorporated in 1903. The community was named after William F. Rigby, a prominent early settler and member of the church.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 3,945 people, 1,328 households, and 994 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,428 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.9% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 6.7% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 11.8% of the population. There were 1,328 households, of which 45.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 25.2% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.43. The median age in the city was 27.6 years. 34.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.5% were from 25 to 44; 16.5% were from 45 to 64; and 10.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,998 people, 1,051 households, and 789 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,107 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.16%

, 0.43%

, 0.87% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.07%

, 5.64% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 11.67% of the population. There were 1,051 households, out of which 42.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.2% were

living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.36. In the city, the population was spread out, with 33.7% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,192, and the median income for a family was $36,417. Males had a median income of $32,316 versus $18,269 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $12,795. About 10.5% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Geography

Rigby is at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. Many tributaries of the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

run through the Rigby area including the Henry’s Fork, South Fork, and others. With the large amount of water, Jefferson County surrounding Rigby is home to the largest cottonwood forest west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Rigby has a warm-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb'').

Economy

Many Rigby citizens commute to jobs in Rexburg or Idaho Falls, and a number of residents work for the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

or federal contractors through the

Idaho National Laboratory Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is one of the national laboratories of the United States Department of Energy and is managed by the Battelle Energy Alliance. Historically, the lab has been involved with nuclear research, although the labora ...

(INL), locally called "The Site".

Arts and culture

The Farnsworth TV & Pioneer Museum has Philo Farnsworth's television-related work, including an original TV tube he developed, on display. A significant majority of Rigby's residents, as well as those of the outlying communities, are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Baptist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran faiths also have current local congregations. And while many Rigby residents are Catholic there is no Catholic Church within the city.

Education

Jefferson County School District 251 is the local school district. Rigby High School is the primary

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

within the city, serving grades 9–12. Jefferson High School exists as an alternative high school for high-need students. Rigby Middle School and Philo T. Farnsworth Middle School serve grades 6–8. "Trojans" is the

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

for both of the middle schools and Rigby High School; the team colors are

maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. The community supports six

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

: Cottonwood Elementary, Midway Elementary, South Fork Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Roberts Elementary, and Harwood Elementary. There is also the Rigby Virtual Academy serving K–8 and the Early Childhood Center serving special needs aged 3–5. These schools also serve residents from neighboring areas such as Menan, Lewisville, and Roberts. Rigby has a long-standing rivalry with Madison. Rigby High School currently has 10 state titles in Boys Basketball, and in 2019 Won their first state title in football, defeating Coeur d'Alene 57-56 in double overtime. The two schools had previously played in week one of the same season, with Coeur d'Alene winning.

Notable people

Philo Farnsworth Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971), "The father of television", was the American inventor and pioneer who was granted the first patent for the television by the United States Government. Burns, R. W. (1998), ''Televisi ...

, inventor and early television pioneer * Vardis Fisher, author *

Gail Halvorsen Colonel Gail Seymour Halvorsen (October 10, 1920 – February 16, 2022) was a senior officer and command pilot in the United States Air Force. He rose to fame for dropping candy to German children during the Berlin Airlift from 1948 to 1949, ...

, retired Air Force pilot * Brent Hill, politician *

H. Rex Lee Hyrum Rex Lee (April 8, 1910 – July 26, 2001) was an American government employee and diplomat who was the last unelected governor of American Samoa. Lee served as governor from 1961 to 1967, and again briefly from 1977 to 1978. Governor Lee's ...

, 44th and 50th governor of

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

* Wayne Quinton, inventor of the

treadmill A treadmill is a device generally used for walking, running, or climbing while staying in the same place. Treadmills were introduced before the development of powered machines to harness the power of animals or humans to do work, often a type of ...

and biomedical devices * Larry Wilson,

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

NFL player * Big Ryan, lunatic fringe, fugitive from justice

References

External links

*
Rigby Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in Jefferson County, Idaho Cities in Idaho County seats in Idaho Cities in Idaho Falls metropolitan area Populated places established in 1883