Wyoming 101: Least Populated State, Cowboys, and Tax-Free Living

Geography and Climate: Big Sky, High Plains, Brutal Winters

Understanding Wyoming's vastness:

Size and emptiness:

Tenth largest state:

• 98,000 square miles
• Population: 581,000 (50th—dead last, only state under 600K)
• Density: 6 people/square mile (Alaska 1.3, but Alaska is special case—Wyoming emptiest contiguous state)
• 48% federal land (BLM, national forests/parks)

What "least populated" means:

• Entire state has fewer people than: Milwaukee (577K), Tucson (545K), Las Vegas (656K)
• Drive I-80: 100+ miles between towns (gas up always—running out = danger)
• Grocery store 60 miles away common (rural residents)
• Neighbors 5-10 miles apart (ranches enormous)

Three regions:

Northwestern (Yellowstone/Teton area—tourism):

• Towns: Jackson (10,000), Cody (10,000)
• Geography: Rockies, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons
• Elevation: 6,000-13,000 ft
• Economy: Tourism (Yellowstone 4 million visitors/year), hospitality
• Vibe: Wealthy (Jackson—billionaire ranches), touristy

Southeastern (population "center"):

• Cities: Cheyenne (65,000—capital), Laramie (32,000—university), Casper (59,000)
• Geography: High plains, rolling grasslands
• Elevation: 6,000-8,000 ft
• Economy: Government, energy, ranching
• Vibe: "Urban" (by Wyoming standards—still feels small-town)

Northern/Central (energy country):

• Towns: Gillette (33,000), Sheridan (18,000), Rock Springs (23,000)
• Geography: Powder River Basin (coal), high desert
• Economy: Coal mining, oil, natural gas
• Vibe: Boom-bust, working-class, conservative

Climate (harsh):

Cheyenne (southeast—"mildest" major town):

• Summer: 75-85°F (pleasant, but thunderstorms)
• Winter: 15-35°F (cold, snow 60 inches/year)
• Record cold: -38°F (frequent -20°F)
• Wind: Constant (30+ mph average—worst in U.S.)

The wind reality:

• I-80 closures: High-profile vehicles (semi-trucks) blown over (happens monthly winter)
• Walking difficult: Lean into wind (kids blown off feet)
• Trees bent permanently: Wind shapes landscape
• Wind chill: -40°F feels like -60°F (frostbite minutes)

Jackson (mountains):

• Colder: Winter -10°F to 20°F (record -50°F)
• Snow: 150 inches/year (ski resorts 400+ inches)
• Summer: 70-80°F (perfect hiking)

Northern Wyoming (Gillette):

• Extreme cold: -40°F to -50°F (oil workers work outside—brutal)
• Summer: 85-95°F (hot, dry)

Natural disasters:

• Blizzards: Annual (I-80 closed days—stranded travelers)
• Extreme cold: Deadly (homeless, stranded motorists freeze)
• Tornadoes: Eastern Wyoming (rare but violent)
• Wildfires: Mountains (dry forests)

No State Income Tax (The Big Financial Advantage)

Wyoming's tax structure:

How it works:

Zero state income tax:

• $100,000 salary = keep $100,000 (minus federal)
• Compare: Colorado 4.4% ($4,400), California 9.3% ($9,300)
• High earners save thousands

How Wyoming funds government:

• Mineral taxes (coal, oil, gas companies—50% of state revenue)
• Sales tax: 4% state + 2% local = 6% total (moderate)
• Property tax: 0.6% (low—$310,000 home = $1,860/year, $155/month)

System:

• Energy industry subsidizes residents
• When coal/oil booms → state rich
• When bust → budget cuts (education, services suffer)

No corporate income tax:

Business-friendly:

• LLCs popular (Delaware alternative—privacy, low fees)
• Wealthy register businesses here (tax advantage)
• But limited market (581,000 people—small customer base)

Who benefits:

Remote workers:

• Keep California/NYC salary ($150,000+)
• Live Wyoming (housing $310,000 vs $1 million)
• Save income tax ($13,500 California)
• Total savings: $50,000+ yearly

Retirees:

• No tax on Social Security, pensions
• Low cost living (stretch retirement savings)

Energy workers:

• $80,000-120,000 salaries (no state tax = $7,000-11,000 saved)

Housing: Affordable (But Limited Inventory)

The cost advantage:

Home prices:

Cheyenne:

• Median: $310,000 (50% cheaper than Denver $625,000)
• New construction: $350,000-450,000
• Older homes: $250,000-300,000

Laramie:

• Median: $320,000 (college town—University of Wyoming)
• Limited inventory (small town—few sales)

Casper:

• Median: $280,000 (most affordable "city")
• Boom-bust (oil/coal cycles—prices volatile)

Jackson:

• Median: $2.5 million (billionaire playground—not real Wyoming)
• Teton County: Wealthiest county U.S. (per capita income $318,000)
• Service workers commute 60 miles (can't afford living there)

Rural:

• Ranch land: $1,000-3,000/acre (need 100+ acres—$200,000-500,000)
• Fixer-uppers: $150,000-200,000 (small towns—Thermopolis, Lusk)

Rent:

• Cheyenne 1-bedroom: $900-1,200 (cheap)
• Jackson: $2,500+ (resort town)

The catch:

Limited inventory:

• Small towns: 10-20 homes for sale total
• Wait months for right property
• Competition: Out-of-staters buying (remote workers, retirees)

Condition:

• Older homes (1970s-80s)
• Weathered (brutal climate damages exteriors)
• Maintenance higher (wind, cold, snow)

Jobs and Economy: Energy Dominance and Boom-Bust

What drives Wyoming:

Energy (50% of economy):

Coal:

• Powder River Basin (largest coal-producing region U.S.)
• Jobs: $70,000-100,000 (miners, heavy equipment operators)
• Declining: Renewable energy shift (mines closing—Gillette losing jobs)

Oil and natural gas:

• Drilling, fracking, pipelines
• Jobs: $80,000-120,000 (roughnecks, engineers, geologists)
• Boom-bust: Oil prices crash = layoffs (2014-2016 crash devastated)

Boom-bust reality:

Boom (oil $100/barrel):

• Hiring frenzy (everyone works, high wages)
• Housing shortage (man camps—temporary worker housing)
• Restaurants packed, new trucks everywhere

Bust (oil $40/barrel):

• Mass layoffs (50%+ workforce gone)
• Foreclosures (underwater mortgages)
• Ghost towns (Rock Springs, Gillette half-empty)
• Domestic violence, addiction spike (economic stress)

Result: Unstable (good money but risky—save during boom)

Tourism:

Yellowstone/Grand Teton:

• Jobs: $30,000-50,000 (hospitality, park rangers)
• Seasonal (May-September—laid off winter)

Ranching:

Traditional:

• Cattle, sheep (iconic but declining)
• Hard life (low margins, weather risk)
• Family operations (multigenerational—not hiring)

Government:

Stable:

• State workers, University of Wyoming
• Salaries: $40,000-70,000 (lower than private but secure)

Limited opportunities:

What's missing:

• Tech (zero startups, no Silicon anything)
• Finance (no corporate headquarters)
• Healthcare (limited hospitals—specialists require traveling Denver, Salt Lake)
• Retail (no major malls, chain stores sparse)

Reality: Energy, government, tourism, ranching—that's it

Isolation and Rural Reality

The challenge:

Distances:

Cheyenne (largest city):

• Denver: 100 miles (1.5 hours—most Wyomingites shop Denver)
• Costco, Trader Joe's, Ikea: Denver (monthly trips)
• Specialists (doctors, dentists): Often Denver

Gillette (coal country):

• Nearest city: Casper 130 miles (2 hours)
• Nearest Walmart: 50 miles
• Nearest hospital: 70 miles (medical emergencies = airlift)

Rural ranches:

• Nearest town: 60+ miles
• Nearest neighbor: 5-10 miles
• Grocery store: 90 miles (monthly stock-up trips)

Services:

What doesn't exist:

• Uber/Lyft (except Cheyenne, Jackson—barely)
• Public transit (zero—car essential)
• Delivery (DoorDash, Instacart—doesn't exist)
• Fast food (McDonald's, Subway in towns only—rural nothing)

Internet:

• Towns: Cable/fiber (decent)
• Rural: DSL 3-10 Mbps, satellite (laggy), or nothing
• Remote work difficult (Zoom calls buffer)

Cell service:

• I-25, I-80 corridors: Okay
• Off highways: Dead zones (emergency = no 911 call)

Social life:

Dating:

• Small pool (everyone knows everyone)
• Apps useless (nearest match 100 miles)
• Many give up (stay single or move)

Entertainment:

• Bars, rodeos, high school sports (that's it)
• Movies: Drive 60 miles (small-town theaters close)
• Concerts: Never (bands skip Wyoming—not enough people)

Friends:

• Neighbors far (5-10 mile drives to socialize)
• Church, VFW, Elks Lodge (community centers)

Cowboy Culture: Authentic Old West

Not a stereotype—it's real:

What it means:

Rodeos:

• Cheyenne Frontier Days (July—largest rodeo world, 10 days)
• Bull riding, bronc riding, roping (professional and amateur)
• Every small town has rodeo (summer weekends)

Ranching:

• Still primary rural economy
• Cowboys (actual working cowboys—not costume)
• Cattle drives (move herds seasonally)

Guns:

• Constitutional carry (no permit needed—open or concealed)
• Hunting culture (elk, deer, antelope—fill freezers)
• Gun racks in trucks (normalized)

Trucks:

• Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, Ram (sedans rare)
• Lifted, diesel, 4WD (needed—snow, mud, ranches)
• Bumper stickers: "Don't Tread on Me," "Come and Take It"

Values:

• Self-reliance (fix own truck, butcher own meat, no government help)
• Independence (libertarian streak—leave me alone)
• Hard work (no handouts—earn your way)

Politics: Deep Red, Libertarian Streak

Wyoming's political identity:

Most Republican state:

GOP dominance:

• Trump +43% (2020—largest margin any state)
• Governor, both senators, House rep Republican
• Legislature: 90% GOP (Democrats nearly extinct)

Why?

• Rural (conservative values)
• Energy industry (anti-environmental regulations)
• Gun culture (Second Amendment sacred)
• Self-reliance ethos (distrust government)

Liz Cheney saga:

Context:

• Daughter of Dick Cheney (VP)
• Wyoming House rep (2017-2023)
• Voted to impeach Trump (Jan 6)
• GOP primary: Lost 66%-29% (crushed)

Lesson: Trump loyalty > everything (even Cheney name)

Issues:

Energy:

• Coal jobs (defending against renewable push)
• Drill baby drill (pro-oil, anti-regulation)

Federal land:

• 48% federal (BLM, parks—locals resent)
• "Transfer to state control" movement (ongoing tension)

Abortion:

• Trigger ban (illegal except rape, incest, maternal health)

Yellowstone and Grand Teton: The Crown Jewels

Why tourists come:

Yellowstone:

First national park (1872):

• 2.2 million acres (size of Delaware + Rhode Island)
• 4 million visitors/year
• Geysers: Old Faithful, 300+ others
• Wildlife: Bison, grizzly bears, wolves, elk
• Supervolcano: Caldera (last erupted 640,000 years ago—due?)

Problems:

• Overcrowded (traffic jams, selfie-tourists)
• Bison attacks (tourists ignore warnings—get gored)
• Infrastructure old (aging roads, lodges)

Grand Teton:

Dramatic peaks:

• 13,775 ft (Teton Range—no foothills, just jagged peaks)
• 3 million visitors/year
• Hiking, climbing, camping

Jackson Hole:

Resort town:

• Skiing: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (expert terrain, 4,100 vertical ft)
• Wealthy: Billionaires (Kanye West, Sandra Bullock own ranches)
• Service workers: Live 60 miles away (Driggs, Idaho—can't afford Jackson)

Self-Sufficiency Requirements

You must be capable:

Skills needed:

Vehicle maintenance:

• Nearest mechanic 60 miles (fix flat yourself or stranded)
• Jump-start battery (cold kills batteries)
• Carry tools, spare tire, jumper cables (always)

Home repair:

• Plumber 100 miles, 3-week wait (fix toilet yourself)
• HVAC breaks -30°F (die waiting—DIY or freeze)

Survival:

• Blizzard stranded (keep food, water, blankets in car—people die I-80)
• Power outage (generator essential—outages common)
• Medical emergency (CPR, first aid—ambulance 90 minutes away)

Wyoming offers ultimate-freedom least-populated-state 581K people 6-per-square-mile endless-open-range authentic-cowboy-culture rodeos-Cheyenne-Frontier-Days ranching-working-cowboys gun-culture constitutional-carry hunting-elk-deer-antelope trucks-Ford-Ram-4WD self-reliance-independence libertarian-values, no-state-income-tax zero-corporate-tax keeping-full-salary saving-thousands energy-workers-$80-120K remote-workers-California-salaries-$150K living-cheap, affordable-housing Cheyenne-$310K versus-Denver-$625K 50%-cheaper property-tax-0.6% low, Yellowstone-Grand-Teton 4-million-visitors Old-Faithful geysers-wildlife-bison-grizzlies Jackson-Hole-skiing expert-terrain but brutal-isolation 100-miles-between-towns nearest-Costco-90-miles dating-pool-nonexistent cultural-events-zero DSL-3-Mbps-internet cell-service-drops Amazon-7-10-days delivery-doesn't-exist Uber-Lyft-nonexistent car-essential, extreme-weather -40°F-winters wind-30-mph-constant blizzards-I-80-closed-weeks semi-trucks-blown-over frostbite-minutes brutal-wind-chill, energy-dependent-economy boom-bust-cycles coal-declining oil-volatile layoffs-devastate-Gillette-Rock-Springs unemployment-spikes foreclosures ghost-towns domestic-violence-addiction economic-stress, services-limited specialists-Denver-100-miles hospitals-70-miles-rural airlift-emergencies grocery-60-miles stock-up-monthly neighbors-5-10-miles-apart social-life-bars-rodeos-church entertainment-zero concerts-skip-Wyoming movies-60-miles-drive. Self-sufficiency-required vehicle-maintenance-fix-flat plumbing-DIY-or-wait-3-weeks HVAC-breaks--30°F-freeze-waiting blizzard-survival-food-water-blankets-car power-outages-generator-essential medical-CPR-first-aid-ambulance-90-minutes determining emptiness-greatest-appeal-biggest-limitation solitude-seekers-paradise everyone-else-challenge recognizing freedom-space-tax-advantages-stunning-nature-genuine-culture demands-tolerance-isolation harsh-weather acceptance-services-don't-exist ultimate-independence requiring-capable-self-reliant-individuals thriving-vast-emptiness Big-Sky-Country where-neighbors-miles-away-grocery-store-hour-drive cell-service-drops-highways wind-never-stops defining Wyoming-experience love-it-or-leave-it no-middle-ground.