Cost of Living in Wyoming (2024) | SoFi (2024)

(Last Updated – 04/2023)

From the boundless canyons of Yellowstone National Park to the cascading alpines of Grand Teton, there’s no denying that Wyoming is one of America’s most beautiful states.

The fact that it’s also America’s least-populated state, with fewer than six residents per square mile, means that it’s certainly not a bad pick if you’re looking to get away from crowds.

If you’re one of those lovers of open roads and sprawling views, Wyoming just might be the state for you. The lack of a state income tax also doesn’t hurt!

Let’s take an in-depth dive into the Wyoming cost of living.

What’s the Average Cost of Living in Wyoming?

Average Cost of Living in Wyoming: $47,832 per year

Wyoming has the lowest average cost of living among all of the Rocky Mountain states, beating out neighbors like Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. It also ranks among the top 20 most affordable states in the nation, according to MERIC data collected in 2022.

According to the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis , average personal consumption expenditures totaled $47,832 per person in Wyoming in 2021.

Breaking down the expenses provides a snapshot of what the annual cost of living in Wyoming might look like.

Here’s a breakdown of the average annual expenditures by category.

That translates to average monthly expenses of $3,986 per person.

Housing Costs in Wyoming

Average Housing Costs in Wyoming: $662 to $1,622 per month

Wyoming is sparsely populated with plenty of plains, mountains, and even desert in between. The state has just 274,371 housing units, according to 2021 data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The typical home value in Wyoming was $316,886 as of February 2023, Zillow said, which falls beneath the national median sale price of $359,000, as noted by the National Association of Realtors®. However, there are outliers: Homes in the coveted Jackson Hole area can go for millions of dollars.

General costs of putting a roof over your head in Wyoming, according to the latest census data from 2021:

•Median monthly mortgage cost: $1,536

•Median studio rent: $662

•Median one-bedroom rent: $679

•Median two-bedroom rent: $843

•Median three-bedroom rent: $1,082

•Median four-bedroom rent: $1,324

•Median five-bedroom or more rent: $1,622

•Median gross rent: $889

As with any market, your costs will vary according to your location. Here are typical home values for Wyoming’s top cities, according to Zillow’s latest January 2023 data.

Utility Costs in Wyoming

Average Utility Costs in Wyoming: $373 per month

Utility costs make up a portion of your monthly expenses. Here’s a snapshot of these costs for the typical Wyomingite.

Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price, 2021; Inspirecleanenergy.com; DoxoInsights, U.S. Cable & Internet Market Size and Household Spending Report 2022; and Rentcafe.com, What Is the Average Water Bill?

Groceries & Food

Average Grocery & Food Costs in Wyoming: $335.17 per month

Compared with popular neighboring state Utah, Wyoming is not a cheap state when it comes to food costs. In aggregate, Wyoming cities actually ranked the second most expensive in the entire Rocky Mountain region, with only Colorado scoring higher on grocery expenses.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the average annual cost of food and beverages (non-restaurant) per capita in Wyoming is $4,022, which comes out to around $335 per month. These costs vary widely even within the state, as high-cost areas like Laramie and Jackson can skew data upward.

The Council for Community and Economic Research ranks food costs in major cities across the United States. Here are the rankings of grocery costs in the Rocky Mountain region for 2022, from lowest to highest.

Transportation

Average Transportation Costs in Wyoming: $5,316 to $15,073 per year

Cruising the open roads of Wyoming while listening to your favorite tunes is a thrill that can be enjoyed by anyone with a set of wheels; it will unfortunately still require you to keep one eye on the fuel gauge. Luckily, when compared with the rest of the nation, Wyoming actually has lower-than-average transportation costs.

Transportation costs in Wyoming will vary according to the size of your family. Here are estimated costs, according to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator for 2023.

Health Care

Average Health Care Costs in Wyoming: $7,562 per person, per year

Annual health care costs in Wyoming usually hover around $7,500 per person, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis 2021 Personal Consumption Expenditures report. Individual results will vary based on personal factors such as your age, medical needs, and health insurance coverage.

It’s a good idea to purchase sufficient health insurance to help manage costs in the event of emergencies. Go to healthcare.gov to find out more about affordable health insurance in Wyoming.

Child Care

Average Child Care Costs in Wyoming: $664 to $1,248 per child, per month

Average child care costs in Wyoming will vary by location and the type of care sought. Interestingly enough, home-based family care comes in cheaper than classroom settings in Wyoming.

The Wyoming Department of Family Services is an excellent resource for parents seeking more information about child care providers or subsidies.

Here are 2021 average child care costs in Wyoming from costofchildcare.org .

Taxes

Average Taxes in Wyoming: No income tax

Wyoming is one of nine states that do not levy individual income taxes.

According to the Tax Foundation’s State and Local Tax Burdens for 2022 , Wyoming also has the second-lowest tax burden of any U.S. state, with an effective tax rate of just 7.5%. That is second only to Alaska, which has the lowest taxes in the country, with an effective tax rate of 4.6%.

Miscellaneous Costs

What’s left after covering typical living costs like housing, utilities, and taxes? Hopefully enough money to cover some of Wyoming’s everyday pleasures. Here’s how much some popular activities and foods in the Cowboy State will set you back.

•Admission to Yellowstone National Park: $35 for a single vehicle for 7 days

•Admission to Grand Teton National Park: $35 for a single vehicle for 7 days

•Bison burger: ~$17 to $18

•A16-ounce ribeye steak: ~$35 to $42

Most of Wyoming’s wide-open prairies can be enjoyed at no cost and usually without crowds. As mentioned, Wyoming has the fewest residents of any state in the country, with just 5.9 people per square mile as per 2020 census data.

Almost half of all of Wyoming’s land is owned by the federal government for conservation and development. About 61% of the 30 million acres under federal control is owned and maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

While you’re in Wyoming, if meat is your thing, try its famous bison burgers and steakhouses, as they’re a local staple.

How Much Money Do You Need to Live Comfortably in Wyoming?

If you’re still wondering “How much does it cost to live in Wyoming?,” MIT’s Living Wage Calculator gave the following statistics: The average single, childless individual working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year would need to make $15.64 an hour, or $32,531 a year, to warrant a “living wage” in Wyoming.

The Equality State ranked 16th on MERIC’s 2022 Cost of Living results, coming in as the most affordable state within the Rocky Mountain region, followed by Idaho at number 28.

U.S. News & World Report’s Affordability Rankings actually place Wyoming at No. 33 in the United States, largely dragged down by its metric for housing affordability.

What City Has the Lowest Cost of Living in the Southeast?

To give you a relative idea of Wyoming’s cost of living, here are the lowest-cost cities in the Rocky Mountain region, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research’s Cost of Living Index for 2022.

Great Falls, Montana

The seat of Cascade County, Great Falls is the third-largest city by population in Montana and sits at the edge of the Rocky Mountains, with the great Missouri River running right through it. Of all the metropolitan areas tracked by the council, Great Falls has the lowest cost of living of all the Rocky Mountain states.

Pueblo, Colorado

Just 112 miles south of Denver, Pueblo rose to prominence as a steel city in the late 1800s. With a population of over 112,000, Pueblo has the lowest cost of living of any city in Colorado as well as some of the most affordable homes in the region.

Casper, Wyoming

Located near Casper Mountain in east-central Wyoming, Casper is the second-largest city in the state, after Cheyenne. Formerly an oil-boom town, Casper has about 58,700 residents and is attractive, thanks to its supply of affordable housing. Casper has the lowest cost of living among Wyoming’s major cities.