Best PlacesJohnson County, WY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Johnson County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Johnson County ranks 558th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Johnson County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Johnson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Johnson County ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 98% of counties
- Short commute16.7 minutes each way, better than 92% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 143 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 88% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 85% of counties
Where Johnson County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 17% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 29% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 32% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Johnson County
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Johnson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,862, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Johnson County's effective rate of 0.54%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Johnson County
Johnson County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Johnson County.
Who works in Johnson County, and how
Work in Johnson County centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Johnson County
Johnson County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of counties and more parkland per resident than 80% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Johnson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Johnson County growing, and who is moving in?
Johnson County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Goshen County, WY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Johnson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Johnson County, month by month
Johnson County sees roughly 143 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 28° | 16° |
| April | 57° | 43° | 30° |
| July | 89° | 72° | 57° |
| October | 62° | 47° | 34° |
Flying in and out of Johnson County
The nearest airport, Sheridan County, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 323 miles away.
The best schools in and around Johnson County
Schools across Johnson County average an A−, better than 88% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Story ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- 4-j Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Cloud Peak ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Big Horn Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Clear Creek Middle SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Sage Valley Junior High SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Buffalo High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Natrona County High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Thunder Basin High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Johnson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Johnson County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Johnson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Johnson County
Is Johnson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Johnson County ranks 558th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low taxes, short commutes, and the weather, and lowest on distance from a big city and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Johnson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $320,949. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $65,862 median income, cost of living beats 40% of counties.
Is Johnson County safe?
Yes, Johnson County is safer than 72% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $283 per resident a year.
Compare Johnson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Johnson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Johnson County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Johnson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Johnson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Johnson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Johnson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Johnson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Johnson County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.