Post Falls has the most homes in the county, and a third as many places to eat per home as downtown Coeur d'Alene
About 10,800 Post Falls homes earn $75,000 or more, the most of any ZIP code here because it is the biggest. The city had 92 places to eat and drink at the last federal count, or 4.6 for every 1,000 homes.
Post Falls is the biggest ZIP code in Kootenai County, so it has the most homes earning $75,000 a year or more. That is a count. It does not mean Post Falls is the wealthiest place in the county, and this story does not rank the ZIP codes by income. It also has far fewer places to eat for each of those homes than downtown Coeur d'Alene does.
That gap is why a lot of Post Falls dinner money probably gets spent in Coeur d'Alene. We say probably on purpose. Nobody has measured where Post Falls families eat. What follows is what the numbers do show.
THE MONEY
- ZIP code 83854, Post Falls, has 20,056 homes, the most in the county.
- About 10,800 of them earn $75,000 a year or more. No other ZIP code here has as many.
- Our research division, accelerated DBM, estimates that a comfortable home in the county spends about $5,000 a year eating out, and a wealthy home about $8,100. Those are estimates from the federal spending survey, not local receipts.
THE TABLES
The Census Bureau counts businesses by ZIP code. Its latest count of eating and drinking places is from 2023.
- Post Falls: 92 places, or 4.6 for every 1,000 homes.
- Downtown and south Coeur d'Alene (83814): 154 places, or 12.9 for every 1,000 homes.
- Hayden: 57 places, or 6.3.
- North Coeur d'Alene (83815): 77 places, or 4.6.
- Rathdrum: 31 places, or 4.3.
WHAT THAT DOES AND DOES NOT MEAN
- Post Falls is not the thinnest spot in the county. North Coeur d'Alene matches it and Rathdrum is a little lower.
- Downtown Coeur d'Alene's number is lifted by visitors. Lake tourists and resort guests eat there too, so it has more restaurants than its own homes would fill.
- The count is from 2023. Post Falls has added places since then. Our story on what went up in Post Falls lists the newest ones.
- What makes Post Falls stand out is the size of the gap. It has the biggest number of homes with money to eat out, and about a third of downtown's places per home to spend it in.
WHO THIS IS ABOUT
accelerated DBM sorted the county's 71,171 homes into six groups. The biggest pot of restaurant money belongs to the group it calls Hometown Regulars: 16,125 homes with good jobs, date nights, brewery afternoons and family dinners out. They account for about a quarter of all the restaurant money in the county, an estimated $80.6 million a year, and they are thickest in Post Falls, Hayden and north Coeur d'Alene.
WHAT WE HAVE NOT DONE YET
- We have not talked to Post Falls restaurant owners or the chamber of commerce.
- We have not asked diners what they think is missing.
- We do not have a current list of Post Falls restaurants by kind. The federal count gives a number, not names.
If you run a restaurant in Post Falls, or you drive to Coeur d'Alene for dinner and can tell us why, we want to hear from you.
Sources
- accelerated DBM, research division of Accelerated Experiences LLC: Kootenai Food and Drink Target Clusters (Nov. 10, 2026); estimates and modeled scores
- U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey 2024 five-year, household income by ZIP code (table B19001)
- U.S. Census Bureau: County Business Patterns 2023, eating and drinking places by ZIP code
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Expenditure Survey 2025