Rexburg was severely damaged by the Teton Dam Flood in June 1976. The Teton River flowed through northern Rexburg, and left most of the city underwater for several days after the Teton Dam ruptured. A museum dedicated to the Teton Dam Flood and the history of Rexburg and the area, located in the basement of the Rexburg Tabernacle, has been a major city landmark for decades.
The city is home to Brigham Young University-Idaho (BYU-Idaho), a private institution operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). When the Rexburg Idaho Temple was dedicated in 2008, Rexburg became the third city in Idaho with an LDS temple.
Much of the city, including BYU-Idaho and the Rexburg Idaho Temple, rests on top of a shield volcano just north of Rigby, ID. Eruptions are not expected in the near future so far south; Yellowstone National Park and Island Park are the most likely settings for future volcanic activity in the area. Many different types of volcanoes exist near Rexburg, including cinder cones, spatter cones, other shield volcanoes, and volcanic fissures. There are lava fields to the west and south of Rexburg, the results of open fissure eruptions from about two thousand years ago. The nearby Craters of the Moon National Monument presents the most obvious features of this recent activity. Sediment deposits enriched by volcanism make the surrounding area famous for its production of large starch-rich potatoes.
Rexburg is close to the St. Anthony Sand Dunes, the West Entrance of Yellowstone National Park and the Teton Range.
Rexburg experiences a humid continental climate with cold winters and hot summers – though even in the summer, nights are chilly and frosts have occurred in all months of the year. The wettest year has been 1983 with 20.76 inches and the driest has been 1988 with 7.48 inches including rainless months in July and October, though the wettest month was May 1981 with 4.22 inches. The average snow cover peaks at around 9 inches, whilst the heaviest snowfall in one month was 43.5 inches in December 1983.
As of the census of 2010, there were 25,484 people, 7,179 households, and 4,925 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,611.1 inhabitants per square mile (1,008.2/km2). There were 7,617 housing units at an average density of 780.4 per square mile.
The public high school is Madison High School, which has the bobcat as its mascot.
Rexburg is home to BYU-Idaho, a private institution operated by LDS Church. The university began as a small high school-level academy in 1888 and was eventually established as Ricks College, in honor of Mormon pioneer and city founder, Thomas E. Ricks. On August 10, 2001, it officially became a four-year university and assumed the name BYU-Idaho.
