Net Income per Share (Schedule of Calculation of Numerator and Denominator in Earnings per Share) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2018	Jul. 31, 2017	Jul. 31, 2018	Jul. 31, 2017
Numerator:
Net income attributable to Raven Industries, Inc.	$ 13,677	$ 8,235	$ 35,812	$ 20,583
Denominator:
Weighted average common shares outstanding (in shares)	35,893,132	36,096,048	35,859,614	36,088,095
Weighted average fully vested stock units outstanding (in shares)	102,339	109,146	95,027	103,966
Denominator for basic calculation (in shares)	35,995,471	36,205,194	35,954,641	36,192,061
Weighted average common shares outstanding (in shares)	35,893,132	36,096,048	35,859,614	36,088,095
Weighted average fully vested stock units outstanding (in shares)	102,339	109,146	95,027	103,966
Dilutive impact of stock options and restricted units (in shares)	429,409	348,795	455,595	322,661
Denominator for diluted calculation (in shares)	36,424,880	36,553,989	36,410,236	36,514,722
Net income per share - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.38	$ 0.23	$ 1.00	$ 0.57
Net income per share - diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.38	$ 0.23	$ 0.98	$ 0.56