Burley

History

The first human inhabitants of the area were Paleo Indians, who first settled the area 15 to 16,000 years ago. Later, the Northern Shoshone and Northern Paiute peoples established communities in the area. Oregon Trail passed through what is now Burley, and the California Trail passed just south, through the City of Rocks nearby. (The “parting of the ways” trail junction was at the convergence of the Raft and Snake rivers in eastern Cassia county.) The Oregon Short Line Railroad was constructed through what is now Burley, A post office called Burley has been in operation since 1905. The community was named after David Ellsworth Burley, the local railroad agent. The town was incorporated in 1909, and became the seat of Cassia County in 1918. A Simplot potato-processing plant in nearby Heyburn employed about 650 residents in the area and was a mainstay of the local economy, from its opening in 1960, through its closure in 2003. After the plant's closure, the city of Burley took ownership of the property. It currently operates an industrial park there. In the aftermath of the plant closure, voters in Burley, Rupert, and Heyburn approved bond issues to expand and upgrade wastewater infrastructure. This allowed other food processing companies to come to the area, which in turn stabilized and diversified the local economy. In 2008, a group of local farmers sued the Idaho BLM (Bureau of Land Management) because pesticides that the Burley BLM office sprayed on their lands were carried by a wind storm onto farmers’ lands, effectively destroying crops.

Geography

Most of the city lies in Cassia County, with a small portion extending north into Minidoka County. The Snake River forms the border between the two counties. On the north side of the river, Burley is bordered to the east by the city of Heyburn. U.S. Route 30 passes east-west through the center of Burley, leading northeast to Interstate 84 in Heyburn and west to Kimberly. Idaho State Highway 27 passes through the center of Burley, leading north to Paul and south to its terminus in Oakley, while State Highway 81 leads east from Burley to Declo. I-84 passes through the northern end of Burley, leading west to the Twin Falls area and southeast to Ogden, Utah. Replacements and upgrades to the I-84 interchanges outside of Burley and nearby Heyburn are under construction, to be completed around 2026; the previous interchanges had been in service since their construction in 1961. According to the United States Census Bureau, Burley has a total area of , of which are land and , or 4.71%, are water,

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  1,178
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  1,095
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,038
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  933
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  931
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  873
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  706
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  580

Largest nearby schools

• BURLEY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · BURLEY · 1,055 students · 19.5:1 ratio
• WHITE PINE ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · BURLEY · 617 students · 20.6:1 ratio
• JOHN V EVANS ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · BURLEY · 553 students · 20.5:1 ratio
• BURLEY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  Middle · BURLEY · 550 students · 17.7:1 ratio
• MOUNTAIN VIEW ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · BURLEY · 484 students · 20.2:1 ratio
• DECLO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · DECLO · 450 students · 23.7:1 ratio
• DWORSHAK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · BURLEY · 405 students · 21.3:1 ratio
• DECLO SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · DECLO · 298 students · 16.6:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.51 — 2026-06-16
  25 km NNW of Snowville, Utah
• M 2.58 — 2003-04-18
  55 km SSE of Oakley, Idaho