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, 2019	Jul. 31, 2018	Jul. 31, 2019	Jul. 31, 2018
Numerator:
Net income attributable to Raven Industries, Inc.	$ 8,766	$ 13,677	$ 21,976	$ 35,812
Denominator:
Weighted average common shares outstanding (in shares)	35,933,618	35,893,132	35,947,842	35,859,614
Weighted average fully vested stock units outstanding (in shares)	128,128	102,339	116,734	95,027
Denominator for basic calculation (in shares)	36,061,746	35,995,471	36,064,576	35,954,641
Weighted average common shares outstanding (in shares)	35,933,618	35,893,132	35,947,842	35,859,614
Weighted average fully vested stock units outstanding (in shares)	128,128	102,339	116,734	95,027
Dilutive impact of stock options and restricted units (in shares)	184,873	429,409	260,323	455,595
Denominator for diluted calculation (in shares)	36,246,619	36,424,880	36,324,899	36,410,236
Net income per share - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.24	$ 0.38	$ 0.61	$ 1.00
Net income per share - diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.24	$ 0.38	$ 0.60	$ 0.98