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Fewer Deaths, Births, Marriages, and Divorces recorded in Wyoming in 2022

Last year fewer people were born, fewer people died, fewer people got married, and fewer people got divorced in Wyoming, compared to 2021. This new data is from the Wyoming Department of Health’s Vital Statistics Services. Kem Deti, spokesperson for the Wyoming Department of Health,said official records across the board have been affected by the pandemic in one way or another.

“We’re tracking data about Wyoming residents and vital events that happen within our state”, Deti said. “So all of those records have probably been affected in some way or another by the pandemic and we are starting to maybe see a little bit more normalization. ”

Deti also said firearm ownership in Wyoming is contributing to higher numbers of deaths.

“Unfortunately Wyoming has historically had a very high suicide rate. There can be a number of explanations for that, but certainly higher gun ownership is one of them”, Deti said.

The top five causes of death in 2022 were heart diseases, cancers, various types of accidents and adverse effects, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and related conditions and COVID-19. The year also saw a reduction in suicide deaths, as there were 149 suicides recorded among Wyoming residents compared to 190 in 2021. It is expected that some minor adjustments to the 2022 data will be made before the records are finalized.

Friday Otuya is a master's student in International Studies at the University of Wyoming.
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