Welcome to Challis ...
The city of Challis is located in Custer County<1> and is the County Seat for Custer County.
The location of Challis has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (the GNIS).<2>
Challis was established in 1878.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Challis has a population of 1,078 people<3> (see below for details).
The community of Challis is 5,210 feet [1,588 m] above sea level.<4> In other words, the altitude of Challis is about 1 mile [or ~1½ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Challis lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Challis: 208 & 986<5>
The ZIP code for Challis: 83226<6>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Challis had an population of 1,078 people. This is a decrease of 0.28% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 18.59% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Challis had a population of 1,081 people (or 24.81% of the total population of Custer County). This makes Challis the county's most populous community.
The population of Challis represents 0.07% of the total population of Idaho (which has 1,567,582 people), making it the state's 80th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 1,081 people, the population of Challis increased 18.92% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 909 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Challis.
Communities near Challis ...
We have created a list of 8 communities that are near Challis.
- Clayton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Clayton is located in Custer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clayton <7>
- Bayhorse ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayhorse
- Bayhorse is located in Custer County
- Ellis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Ellis is located in Custer County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ellis <7>
- May
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for May have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May
- May is located in Lemhi County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for May <7>
- Custer ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer
- Custer is located in Custer County
- Patterson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Patterson is located in Lemhi County
- Bonanza ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonanza
- Bonanza is located in Custer County
- Dickey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We're compiling a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Challis. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Challis.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Challis. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Challis.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Challis ...
Looking for more information about Challis? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Challis, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Challis.
Adding Challis to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Challis in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Challis was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Challis post office opened in 1878.
We also found Challis in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Challis.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Challis. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Custer County: www.co.custer.id.us/
The official website for State of Idaho: https://idaho.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Idaho's counties, including Custer, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Challis. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Challis - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 208 code has been Overlayed with the 986 area code. New phone numbers in the Challis area will be assigned with one of these codes: 208 or 986. As a result, placing a call in the Challis area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Challis). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Challis or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |