Growth Data — Where the Field Is, and How Sparse SG Is on It

Source data: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 county and MSA estimates (released May 2025); MSA boundaries per OMB Bulletin 23-01. Compiled April 2026.

Three things about this data are worth holding together:

The Mountain West is the fastest-growing edge of our region.
The growth is geographically concentrated in Idaho.
Sovereign Grace has three churches there.

That is the whole strategic story in three sentences. Everything below is texture.

The field at a glance

Region: 14 states (MN, WI, IL, IA, MO, KS, NE, SD, ND, WY, MT, ID, WA, OR)
Total population (2024): ~54 million
Total counties: ~990

Largest metros in our territory

#	Metro	State(s)	2024 Pop	Growth since 2020
1	Chicago–Naperville–Elgin*	IL/IN/WI	9,408,576	−0.5%
2	Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue	WA	4,095,015	+1.9%
3	Minneapolis–St. Paul	MN/WI	3,690,261	flat
4	St. Louis	MO/IL	2,806,652	−0.5%
5	Portland–Vancouver	OR/WA	2,510,619	flat
6	Kansas City	MO/KS	2,199,490	+0.3%
7	Milwaukee	WI	1,574,731	flat
8	Omaha–Council Bluffs	NE/IA	985,117	+1.8%
9	Boise (Treasure Valley)	ID	836,061	+9.3%
10	Des Moines	IA	727,232	+4.6%
11	Madison	WI	696,525	+2.3%

*Chicago crosses into IN/WI; the Illinois portion is in our region.

Chicago is the giant. The 3rd-largest MSA in the United States. A different kind of question than the growth metros — not "where is growth concentrated" but "where is mass concentrated."

Fastest-growing metros in our territory (2020 → 2024)

#	Metro	State	2024 Pop	Growth
1	Boise (Treasure Valley)	ID	836,061	+9.3%
2	Sioux Falls	SD	286,887	+8.0%
3	Kalispell (Flathead)	MT	113,344	+7.5%
4	Bend	OR	213,116	+7.5%
5	Idaho Falls	ID	167,228	+5.7%
6	Tri-Cities (Kennewick–Richland)	WA	312,517	+5.3%
7	Olympia	WA	305,296	+5.1%
8	Bozeman	MT	124,900	+4.9%
9	Coeur d'Alene	ID	179,565	+4.8%
10	Des Moines	IA	727,232	+4.6%

Boise is the standout. The only metro in our region growing nearly 10% in 4 years, and the 8th-largest. The rare combination of large and fast.

The Idaho concentration

Counties >25K population growing >5% since 2020:

Canyon County (Nampa, Caldwell) — 266,892, +14.5% — Treasure Valley west
Bonner County (Sandpoint) — 53,955, +13.8%
Jefferson County (NE of Idaho Falls) — 34,854, +12.1%
Flathead County (Kalispell, Whitefish) — 114,527, +9.2%
Kootenai County (Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls) — 188,323, +9.0%
Ada County (Boise / Meridian / Star) — 535,799, +7.5% — where Center Church sits
Bonneville County (Idaho Falls) — 133,644, +7.1%

Five of the top-ten fastest-growing counties in our region are in Idaho. No other state in our region comes close to that concentration.

Treasure Valley specifically

Ada County (+7.5%, 535,799) and Canyon County (+14.5%, 266,892) together gained ~70,000 residents in 4 years — roughly the population of Casper, Wyoming, added to one metro in 48 months. Center Church (Star, ID) sits inside Ada County.

Where we rank nationally

Among states by count of fast-growing counties (>25K pop, >5% growth since 2020):

#8 — Idaho (11 fast-growing counties)
#11 — Missouri (7)
#13 — Washington (7)

Idaho is the only state in our region in the national top tier. Only 3 of the 50 fastest-growing US counties are in our region — and they're in Iowa, South Dakota, and Idaho.

Where Sovereign Grace presently sits in this picture

Across WA, OR, ID, MT, WY — five states, enormous geography, and the fast-growing edge of our region — Sovereign Grace has only three churches:

Emmaus Road, Bozeman (MT)
Center Church, Star (ID) — recently planted, sits inside Ada County
Covenant Fellowship, Roseburg (OR)

Idaho — the single most concentrated growth zone in our entire 14-state region — has exactly one SG church, and it's a brand-new plant. This is a strategic vacuum at precisely the point of greatest demographic momentum.

Mountain West Region · SG Wiki