It is a beautiful land of productive dryland agriculture on the prairies bordered by canyons and valleys with wood products, livestock, and tourism industries. Lewis County is a rural county, with relatively small population centers and a uniformly distributed rural population in farms and homes across the countryside. The county seat, Nezperce, has a population of about 500. Other towns include Kamiah, Craigmont, Winchester, and Reubens. The University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System office is located in the Lewis County Courthuse in Nezperce.
Agriculture is of primary importance to the economy of Lewis County.
The principal agricultural commodities in Lewis County include soft white wheat, feed and malting barley, dry edible and fresh peas, rape seed and canola, lentils, Kentucky bluegrass seed, and beef cattle. There are about 175 farms in Lewis County averaging about 1,200 acres each. Agribusiness retail firms and grain marketing companies support the agricultural sector. Transportation of crops to inland ports is available by train from Craigmont and by truck from other parts of the county. Much of the county lies within the boundaries of the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.