A new report out from the Wyoming Department of Administration and Information shows that the state continues to do well economically, but housing costs are rising in several counties. Converse County has had a twenty percent increase in both apartment rent and house payments. Teton continues to be the most expensive county to live in comparatively.
Amy Bittner is a senior economist with the department and says the state overall is doing well.
"We’ve seen an increase in employment at that time due to the energy industry with the oil drilling, oil production going on" says Bittner. "We saw an increase in sales tax collections that’s also another economic indicator of what’s going on in the state."
Bittner says that energy producing counties like Converse are seeing a rise in housing costs because of energy industry activity. Housing is particularly important to watch as it makes up nearly 50% of the average consumer’s budget in the state.