Like all states, Wyoming has certain places that are going on hard times. These Wyoming places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Wyoming.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 30 cities in Wyoming with more than 2,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
What’s the poorest city in Wyoming? According to the facts, Laramie is the poorest place in Wyoming for 2024.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more Wyoming reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Wyoming
- Cheapest Places To Live In Wyoming
- Most Dangerous Cities In Wyoming
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In Wyoming For 2024
1. Laramie
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Population: 31,735
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $50,539 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 24.8% (highest)
People In Poverty: 7,857
More on Laramie: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Laramie, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Wyoming thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 31,735 people averages the lowest median household income in Wyoming and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Buffalo
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The second poorest city in Wyoming is Buffalo.
The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and 6th lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 17th highest in the Equality State.
3. Afton
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Population: 2,303
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 3)
Median Income: $52,273 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 15.7% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 361
More on Afton: Crime
Placing as the third poorest city, Afton’s median income ranks as the 3rd lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 15.69% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Equality State.
4. Riverton
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Population: 10,733
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Income: $50,861 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 14.5% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,554
More on Riverton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Riverton ranks as the fourth poorest place in Wyoming.
The town ranks as having the 2nd lowest median household income and the 7th highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Wheatland
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The fifth poorest city in Wyoming is Wheatland.
The city ranks as having the 4th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 14th highest in Wyoming.
Still not the best news for Wheatland.
6. Thermopolis
/10
Population: 2,722
Rank Last Year: 18 (Up 12)
Median Income: $66,591 (15th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.7% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 480
More on Thermopolis: Crime
Thermopolis ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Equality State.
It ranks as having the 3rd highest incidence of poverty and the 29th highest unemployment rate.
7. Torrington
/10
Population: 6,161
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 2)
Median Income: $55,434 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 11.7% (12th highest)
People In Poverty: 719
More on Torrington: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Torrington places as the seventh poorest city in Wyoming.
The city of over 6,161 ranks as having the 12th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Powell
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Population: 6,460
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Income: $62,899 (11th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 13.6% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 877
More on Powell: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Powell ranks as the eighth poorest city in Wyoming.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. Lovell
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Population: 2,178
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 6)
Median Income: $58,229 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 13.0% (11th highest)
People In Poverty: 282
More on Lovell:
Lovell couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Wyoming; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 9th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Lovell ranks as having the 11th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Wyoming.
10. Sheridan
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Population: 18,807
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 3)
Median Income: $57,667 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 10.8% (15th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,040
More on Sheridan: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Wyoming is Sheridan.
The city of 18,807 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Equality State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Wyoming for 2024
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 30 places with more than 2,000 people in Wyoming, we ranked each place from 1 to 30 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Laramie, crowned the “Poorest Place In Wyoming For 2024”.
This report has been updated for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Wyoming.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Wyoming For 2024
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Wyoming, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Wyoming.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Wyoming, according to data:
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Richest: Bar Nunn
2nd Richest: Star Valley Ranch
3rd Richest: Jackson
For more Wyoming reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Wyoming
- Safest Places In Wyoming
- Worst Places To Live In Wyoming
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Wyoming
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Wyoming
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laramie | 31,735 | 24.8% | $50,539 | 7,857 |
| 2 | Buffalo | 4,475 | 18.4% | $55,245 | 822 |
| 3 | Afton | 2,303 | 15.7% | $52,273 | 361 |
| 4 | Riverton | 10,733 | 14.5% | $50,861 | 1,554 |
| 5 | Wheatland | 3,575 | 11.1% | $53,627 | 395 |
| 6 | Thermopolis | 2,722 | 17.7% | $66,591 | 480 |
| 7 | Torrington | 6,161 | 11.7% | $55,434 | 719 |
| 8 | Powell | 6,460 | 13.6% | $62,899 | 877 |
| 9 | Lovell | 2,178 | 13.0% | $58,229 | 282 |
| 10 | Sheridan | 18,807 | 10.8% | $57,667 | 2,040 |
| 11 | Lander | 7,561 | 11.1% | $62,958 | 836 |
| 12 | Rawlins | 8,287 | 13.6% | $70,054 | 1,130 |
| 13 | Kemmerer | 2,640 | 15.6% | $71,284 | 411 |
| 14 | Mills | 4,218 | 9.0% | $55,231 | 378 |
| 15 | Douglas | 6,356 | 17.0% | $79,322 | 1,079 |
| 16 | Greybull | 2,145 | 10.3% | $64,000 | 220 |
| 17 | Casper | 58,631 | 10.6% | $67,011 | 6,214 |
| 18 | Rock Springs | 23,361 | 13.4% | $75,863 | 3,139 |
| 19 | Glenrock | 2,863 | 10.1% | $64,797 | 290 |
| 20 | Worland | 4,812 | 6.9% | $59,679 | 331 |
| 21 | Newcastle | 3,380 | 10.4% | $71,597 | 351 |
| 22 | Cody | 10,081 | 9.1% | $67,764 | 920 |
| 23 | Evanston | 11,801 | 6.4% | $70,825 | 755 |
| 24 | Cheyenne | 64,795 | 8.5% | $74,989 | 5,501 |
| 25 | Gillette | 33,158 | 9.7% | $90,415 | 3,203 |
| 26 | Green River | 11,772 | 7.7% | $83,497 | 909 |
| 27 | Evansville | 2,755 | 5.2% | $76,646 | 142 |
| 28 | Jackson | 10,748 | 5.3% | $101,477 | 571 |
| 29 | Star Valley Ranch | 2,231 | 2.4% | $92,250 | 53 |
| 30 | Bar Nunn | 2,945 | 0.7% | $104,028 | 20 |
I find this incredibly hard to believe that Worland made it to number 1 on the list of poorest towns in Wyoming. I was born and lived there for 22 years and have traveled the state extensively. Worland is home to quite a bit of industry for its size. (Pepsi, crown cork, worland sugar, etc.) Yes, there is poverty but there is also a lot of wealth in that town, especially out on airport road, sunset and the neighborhoods up on the hill going toward ten sleep.