Star, ID vs Twin Falls, ID: Development Impact Fees Compared (2026)
A single-family home pays about $32,492 in Star vs $9,343 in Twin Falls — Star is $23,149 (248%) higher. Every figure below is normalized per dwelling unit by category, with links to each jurisdiction’s official sources.
City
Star, ID
$32,492
Total per single-family home
impact + connection fees
$21,042
Impact / development fees
roads, parks, schools…
$11,450
Water & sewer connection
tap / capacity / SDC
—
Per multifamily unit
total fees / unit
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Transportation / roads ACHD Transportation Impact Fee (Single Family Detached) — VERIFIED. Transportation/road impact fee levied by the Ada County Highway District (ACHD), a SEPARATE district, collected at the City of Star building permit. ACHD Ordinance No. 254, effective March 1, 2026 ($5,803/single-family home), single service area model. Confirmed on the City of Star fee page (verbatim) and corroborated by ACHD's adoption notice (Meridian-hosted PDF: 'Single Family : $5803.00') and KIVI/KTVB reporting. | per dwelling unit | $5,803 | City of Star, Idaho Mar 1, 2026High |
Transportation / roads Highway District No. 4 (Canyon County) Impact Fee — VERIFIED on City of Star fee page. MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE alternative to the ACHD transportation fee. Star straddles the Ada/Canyon county line; parcels in the Canyon County portion pay Highway District No. 4 ($5,050) INSTEAD OF the ACHD fee ($5,803). ACHD (Ada County) treated as representative/primary; this Canyon County variant excludeFromTotal=true (correct). alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $5,050 | City of Star, Idaho —High |
Fire / EMS Star Fire Impact Fee — VERIFIED on City of Star fee page (verbatim). Fire impact fee levied by the City of Star, per dwelling unit. | per dwelling unit | $2,152 | City of Star, Idaho —High |
Parks & recreation Star Parks Impact Fee — VERIFIED on City of Star fee page (verbatim). Parks/recreation impact fee levied by the City of Star, per dwelling unit. | per dwelling unit | $4,696 | City of Star, Idaho —High |
Police Star Police Impact Fee — VERIFIED on City of Star fee page (verbatim). Police impact fee levied by the City of Star, per dwelling unit. | per dwelling unit | $681 | City of Star, Idaho —High |
Police Public Safety Mitigation Fee - Police — VERIFIED on City of Star fee page (verbatim). Police 'Public Safety Mitigation Fee' charged by the City of Star in addition to the Police Impact Fee. Additive mitigation/exaction (per dwelling unit). | per dwelling unit | $3,360 | City of Star, Idaho —High |
Fire / EMS Public Safety Mitigation Fee - Fire — VERIFIED on City of Star fee page (verbatim). Fire 'Public Safety Mitigation Fee' charged by the City of Star in addition to the Fire Impact Fee. Additive mitigation/exaction (per dwelling unit). | per dwelling unit | $3,600 | City of Star, Idaho —High |
General government / capital Ada County Impact Fees (Jail, EMS, Coroner) — VERIFIED on City of Star fee page (verbatim). Ada County (SEPARATE county government) impact fee covering Jail, EMS, and Coroner capital facilities, collected at the City of Star permit, per single-family dwelling unit. | per dwelling unit | $750 | City of Star, Idaho —High |
Water & sewer connection fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water Connection Fee (per EDU) — VERIFIED in Star Sewer & Water District Residential Permit Application PDF (Revised 3/31/2026): 'Water Connection Fee Amt. Paid $2,000.00 PER EDU ... $2,000.00'. Water connection/capacity fee charged by the SWD (SEPARATE special district providing all water/sewer in Star); 1 SFD = 1 EDU. | per meter | $2,000 | Star Sewer & Water District Mar 31, 2026High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water Meter Lease Fee (3/4" meter) — VERIFIED in SWD Residential Permit Application PDF (Revised 3/31/2026): 'Water Meter Lease Fee Amt. Paid ¾" Meter ... $950.00'. One-time water meter (lease) fee for the standard residential 3/4" meter (representative meter size), additive to the water connection fee. | per meter | $950 | Star Sewer & Water District Mar 31, 2026High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Sewer Connection Fee (per EDU) — VERIFIED in SWD Residential Permit Application PDF (Revised 3/31/2026): 'Sewer Connection Fee Amt Paid $8,500.00 PER EDU ... $8,500.00'. Sewer connection/capacity fee, $8,500 per EDU (1 SFD = 1 EDU). PDF total water+meter+sewer = $11,450.00 ($2,000 + $950 + $8,500), confirmed. | per meter | $8,500 | Star Sewer & Water District Mar 31, 2026High |
City
Twin Falls, ID
$9,343
Total per single-family home
impact + connection fees
$4,982
Impact / development fees
roads, parks, schools…
$4,361
Water & sewer connection
tap / capacity / SDC
—
Per multifamily unit
total fees / unit
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Police Police Impact Fee — CONFIRMED via pdftotext -layout of the Master City-Wide Fee Schedule (line: 'Impact fee - police residential $ 276.00 Per dwelling unit. (see footnote Impact Fee #1)'). Flat per-dwelling-unit, not size-tiered. Idaho Code 67-82 impact fee; auto-adjusted every Jan 1 per municipal cost index (footnote Impact Fee #1, which states the fee is automatically adjusted on Jan 1 of each year using the municipal cost index). | per dwelling unit | $276 | City of Twin Falls, Idaho Jan 1, 2026High |
Fire / EMS Fire Impact Fee — CONFIRMED via pdftotext -layout of the Master City-Wide Fee Schedule (line: 'Impact fee - fire residential $ 1,105.00 Per dwelling unit. (see footnote Impact Fee #1)'). Flat per-unit. Fire non-residential is $0.55/sq ft (separate, not used). | per dwelling unit | $1,105 | City of Twin Falls, Idaho Jan 1, 2026High |
Parks & recreation Parks & Recreation Impact Fee — CONFIRMED via pdftotext -layout of the Master City-Wide Fee Schedule (line: 'Impact fee - parks residential $ 1,918.00 Per dwelling unit. (see footnote Impact Fee #1)'). Parks impact fee is residential-only (no parks non-residential line appears in the schedule). | per dwelling unit | $1,918 | City of Twin Falls, Idaho Jan 1, 2026High |
Transportation / roads Streets (Transportation) Impact Fee - Single-Family — CONFIRMED via pdftotext -layout of the Master City-Wide Fee Schedule (line: 'Impact fee - street single-family $ 1,683.00 Per dwelling unit. (see footnote Impact Fee #1)'). Streets/transportation impact fee is levied and COLLECTED BY THE CITY OF TWIN FALLS itself (Idaho Code 67-82) - there is NO separate highway district in the Twin Falls area. | per dwelling unit | $1,683 | City of Twin Falls, Idaho Jan 1, 2026High |
Water & sewer connection fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Wastewater (Sewer) Capacity Fee - Single Family — CONFIRMED via pdftotext -layout, Engineering section (line: 'Wastewater capacity - Single family $ 512.54' under 'Wastewater capacity fees ... Connection to the WWTS'). Single-family per-unit sewer capacity buy-in (connection to the Wastewater Treatment System). | per dwelling unit | $513 | City of Twin Falls, Idaho Jan 1, 2026High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water Service (Complete) - 1 inch (mainline connection to meter) — CONFIRMED via pdftotext -layout, Engineering (line: 'Water service (complete) - 1 inch $ 3,088.47 Complete water service- mainline connection to meter'). 1-inch is the SMALLEST STANDARD RESIDENTIAL service in Twin Falls (no 3/4" or 5/8" offered), so 1-inch is the representative primary residential row. Larger sizes are mutually-exclusive alternatives (1.5" $3,933.90; 2" $4,553.93), correctly omitted. | per meter | $3,088 | City of Twin Falls, Idaho Jan 1, 2026High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water Meter Fee - 1 inch (Badger model #55) — CONFIRMED via pdftotext -layout (line: 'Water meter fee - 1 inch (Badger model #55) $ 449.28 Assessed with building permit'). ADDITIVE to the water service (complete) charge. 1-inch base residential meter. Larger: 1.5" $778.36; 2" $1,025.20 (excluded variants). | per meter | $449 | City of Twin Falls, Idaho Jan 1, 2026High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water Main Connection - 1 inch tap (tap by City crew) — CONFIRMED via pdftotext -layout (line: 'Water main connection - 1 inch tap $ 150.00 Connections to live water mains (tap by City crew)'). ADDITIVE charge for the City crew to tap a live main for a 1-inch residential service. Same $150 for 1"/1.5"/2" taps; larger taps cost more (excluded variants). | per meter | $150 | City of Twin Falls, Idaho Jan 1, 2026High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water Service Permit - 1 inch — CONFIRMED via pdftotext -layout (line: 'Water service permit - 1 inch water service $ 55.35 Assessed at subdivision construction plan approvals'). Small additive permit fee for 1-inch water service. 1.5" and 2" permits are also $55.35. | per meter | $55.35 | City of Twin Falls, Idaho Jan 1, 2026High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Pressure Irrigation Service (per lot) — CONFIRMED via pdftotext -layout, Engineering (line: 'Pressure Irrigation Service $ 1,290.52 Per lot'). Twin Falls operates a municipal pressurized-irrigation system; new residential lots in PI service areas pay this per-lot connection charge. Correctly marked excludeFromTotal because it applies only where pressurized irrigation service is provided to the lot (situation-dependent). unitBasis 'per_acre' used as the closest schema proxy for the actual per-lot basis. alternative · not added to total | per acre | $1,291 | City of Twin Falls, Idaho Jan 1, 2026High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Sewer Service Connection - Permit + Inspection — CONFIRMED via pdftotext -layout (lines: 'Sewer service connection - permit $ 15.00 Processing the permit' and 'Sewer service connection inspection $ 90.00 Inspection of sewer service connection to main line'). Additive: $15 permit + $90 inspection = $105 for the physical sewer service connection to the main line (separate from the $512.54 wastewater capacity buy-in). Included in the SF total as a small additive connection cost. | per dwelling unit | $105 | City of Twin Falls, Idaho Jan 1, 2026High |
What drives the difference
Star’s $32,492 per single-family home is $23,149 (248%) above Twin Falls’s $9,343. The largest single difference is in sewer connection (tap / sdc): Star charges about $8,500 there versus $618 in Twin Falls — a $7,882 swing that accounts for much of the overall gap. The two also differ in how much falls on water and sewer connection charges: $11,450 in Star versus $4,361 in Twin Falls.
Keep comparing
Star vs Twin Falls impact fees — FAQ
- Which has higher impact fees, Star or Twin Falls?
- Star, ID is higher. A single-family home pays about $32,492 per unit in Star versus $9,343 in Twin Falls, ID — $23,149 (248%) more, as of 2026.
- How much more does it cost to build a home in Star than in Twin Falls?
- About $23,149 more per single-family home — $32,492 in Star, ID versus $9,343 in Twin Falls, ID, a difference of 248% in total development impact and connection fees.
- What's the difference between impact fees in Star and Twin Falls for a single-family home?
- Star, ID charges about $32,492 per single-family home ($21,042 impact + $11,450 water/sewer connection), while Twin Falls, ID charges about $9,343 ($4,982 impact + $4,361 connection). Figures are normalized from official sources for 2026.