Best PlacesWyoming Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Wyoming, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime read low across the board, which puts the choice down to which part suits you. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Wyoming ranks 7th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It earns the spot by being affordable and steady rather than flashy: everyday costs run well below the national average, and crime is low. The trade is thin health care access: the nearest large city and its jobs, flights, and culture are a drive away.
The best neighborhoods in Wyoming
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.
The best areas in Wyoming
The counties of Wyoming, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Park County & Teton County
It is quieter, more adults hold degrees, and schools score higher.
Laramie County & Albany County
Fewer homes sit empty and big-city amenities are closer.
Natrona County
Crime runs lower and more households have young kids.
Sheridan County & Johnson County
Local pay stretches less far and incomes run lower.
Sweetwater County & Uinta County
Prices have run up less and homes cost less.
Fremont County & Lincoln County
Biking is worse and disaster risk is higher.
Campbell County
Commutes are longer.
Converse County
Heat risk is higher and health outcomes score lower.
Carbon County
Advertised internet is slower and fewer residents vote.
Wyoming shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 12% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Wyoming's strengths and weaknesses
Wyoming ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Heat safety is the standout, in the top 3% of states. Short commutes and low taxes follow.
The one real hole is thin health care access, near the bottom of the country. Transit and distance from a big city also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Wyoming ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of states
- Short commute18.8 minutes each way, better than 95% of states
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of states
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of states
- Nice weatherabout 141 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of states
Where Wyoming ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of states
- TransitBetter than only 1% of states
- Big-city accessBetter than only 5% of states
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of states
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Wyoming
A household needs to earn about $93,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Wyoming home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $82,571, 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 Wyoming's effective rate of 0.56%, 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 Wyoming
Wyoming's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Wyoming.
Who works in Wyoming, and how
Work in Wyoming centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Wyoming
Wyoming has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most states and more parkland per resident than 86% of states. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Wyoming and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Wyoming, month by month
Wyoming sees roughly 141 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 25° | 14° |
| April | 59° | 41° | 26° |
| July | 93° | 72° | 51° |
| October | 63° | 45° | 30° |
The best schools in and around Wyoming
Schools across Wyoming average a B−, better than 81% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Poder AcademyA+ · 85% proficient
- Wilson ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
- Sagebrush ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thermopolis Middle SchoolA+ · 71% proficient
- Big Horn Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Lovell Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
Top high schools
- Burlington High SchoolA · 78% proficient
- Big Horn High SchoolA · 78% proficient
- Southeast High SchoolA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Wyoming school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Wyoming 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 Wyoming against the other 49 states.
Who Wyoming suits
Common questions about living in Wyoming
Is Wyoming a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Wyoming ranks 7th of 50 states. It scores highest on heat safety, short commutes, and low taxes, and lowest on thin health care access and transit. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Wyoming expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $369,189. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $82,571 median income, cost of living beats 49% of states.
Is Wyoming safe?
Yes, Wyoming is safer than 91% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $245 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Wyoming?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 36 with lows near 14. That works out to about 141 pleasant days a year, more than 89% of states.
What are the best areas in Wyoming?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Park County & Teton County, Laramie County & Albany County, and Natrona County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Wyoming good for families?
Schools beat 81% of states, crime safety beats 91%, and childcare runs $770 a month.
Is Wyoming good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 49% of states, though advertised internet speeds beat only 29% of states. About 10% of workers already work from home.
Compare Wyoming with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Wyoming. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Wyoming 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.
Wyoming detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Wyoming: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Wyoming: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Wyoming: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Wyoming: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Wyoming 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.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- 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.