West ranking
2 Wyoming cities ranked by cost of living, cheapest first.
Index 87
Index 93
Sorted by cost-of-living index — lowest (most affordable) first.
Why do people move to Wyoming? The most common reasons line up with what the data and geography support: cheaper than the us average, statewide, no state income tax, plus 4 more. The rest is below.
Averaged across the cities we have data for, Wyoming's composite cost-of-living index is about 90 — a comfortable 10% under the US norm. The cheapest cities in the state run even further below. Average median rent across Wyoming cities runs about $968/mo.
Wyoming is one of just nine US states with no state income tax on wages. For a household earning $100,000, that's typically several thousand dollars a year that stay in the account instead of going to a state revenue department — and it stacks every year you live here.
Median household income across Wyoming cities averages about $71,000 — a step above the US median of around $75k. Not a uniformly high-wage state, but the labor market here pays more than most of the country.
Wyoming's geography is dominated by real mountain terrain — the kind that supports ski resorts in winter and serious hiking and trail networks the rest of the year. Outdoor life is a defining piece of how the state is lived, not a thing you have to drive eight hours to access.
Wyoming has the full four-season rotation, with winters that are cold enough to matter — meaning real snow, real ski resorts, and a culture that's built around it instead of pretending it isn't happening. If winter is a thing you actively like, this is the side of the country to be on.
Wyoming is one of the least densely populated states in the country, which sounds abstract until you've driven through it. Empty highways, big skies, no traffic, and the kind of nature-to-people ratio you can't really replicate by moving to the suburbs of a bigger metro.
Reasons reflect aggregated city data for Wyoming (Census ACS, BLS, BEA) plus well-known state-level geography. We only list points that are actually supported — different states show different sections.
Across Wyoming, Casper is the most affordable city we track (cost index 87, with median rent around $942/mo), while Cheyenne sits at the top of the range with an index of 93—roughly 7% pricier than Casper. Use the table above to compare any Wyoming city directly against Casper.
The other end of the ranking — priciest first.