Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Cheyenne's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Cheyenne?
Your $100,000 in Cheyenne has the same purchasing power as $107,216 in the average US city. You'd need $7,216 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Within 10 points of Cheyenne's cost index of 93, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Cheyenne usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: living costs come in under the us baseline, wage income stays untaxed at the state level, plus 3 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Cheyenne sits at 93 on the composite cost-of-living index — about 7% under the national average. Not the cheapest place in the country, but enough of a discount to notice on rent and groceries every month. Median rent in town runs about $993/mo against a typical household income of $74,989, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Wage income in Cheyenne isn't taxed at the state level. Wyoming is one of the few US states with no income tax, which is one of the reasons people relocating from high-tax states tend to land here in the first place.
At about 3.4% unemployment, Cheyenne's labor market is running on the tight side. Easier to land a role, easier to negotiate, easier to leave one job for a better one — the practical things that matter when you're actually looking.
Cheyenne's air quality index averages about 20 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Cheyenne is about 16 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Cheyenne's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Cheyenne does winter the real way. Averages around 19°F keep snow on the ground for weeks at a time, and lakes and rivers tend to freeze hard enough to walk on.
Cold enough to plan around. Winter in Cheyenne averages roughly 19°F, with stretches where daytime highs don't break freezing for weeks. Decent insulation, a real coat, and a car that starts in cold weather are non-negotiable.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Cheyenne runs about 87°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Zone 7, give or take a half-zone. Cheyenne's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 7 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Cheyenne sits at about 6,040 feet (1,841 m) above sea level. That's high enough that new arrivals from sea level should expect a real adjustment period: shorter breath, more water than usual, longer cooking times, and meaningful sun protection thanks to the thinner atmosphere.
Average for an American city. Cheyenne's reported crime rate of about 3,982 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
Roughly average. Cheyenne's cost-of-living index is 93, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Not really — Cheyenne is built around the car. Its Walk Score of 18 out of 100 means almost every errand is a drive. Living without a car is technically possible but real work; most residents wouldn't try it.
Roughly $65,289 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Cheyenne runs about $993/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.