population growth

Wyoming will be testing the air quality around Rock Springs for the next year, partly because of population growth in the area. The air quality monitor is one of three Department of Environmental Quality equipped trailers that’s moved around the state every year or so to collect data and monitor trends.

Sublette County’s population grew by 2.5 percent last year, adding about 200 people to its relatively small population. That’s according to a new report from the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division, which looks at growth across the state’s 23 counties in 2023. The reports author, Wenlin Liu, said COVID and the proximity to the mountains likely played a role.

Data from the Wyoming Department of Administration Information’s Economic Analysis Division indicate that two-thirds of communities over 2,000 people grew from July 2021 to July 2022. It comes as both Cheyenne and Casper each lost a few hundred residents each and while rural areas generally experienced some level of growth.

Earlier this month, the US Census Bureau released its 2022 county-level population estimates. The Economic Innovation Group recently analyzed that data at a regional level, and across the West it found that - while population growth rates remain well above national averages - they have slowed to near pre-pandemic levels.

Recently released U.S. Census Bureau statistics indicate that 16 of the state's 23 counties experienced a population increase from July 2021 to July 2022, the period for which statistics were recorded. The uptick in population comes as there were more death than births in the state in 2022.

The state's population rose to just over 581,000 according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics. The increase comes solely from new arrivals to the Cowboy State as deaths outpaced births among existing residents for the first time in decades.

Sheridan County School District #1, which serves students primarily in schools in Big Horn and the Tongue River Valley, has had to turn more out of district students away due to their own student numbers being on the rise. This coincides with the increase in population in Sheridan County over the past several years.

Rent and housing prices, and property values are continuing to increase though there remains a relative shortage of housing options for many. New tiered housing, marketed to those with lower, middle, and upper incomes, is aimed at alleviating this shortage. A third party study that was released earlier this year indicated that 990 new housing units will be required to meet the housing demand over the next decade.

The state's senior population is rising and is expected to reach 20 percent of the total population by 2030 if trends continue. Since 2010, the growth of minority populations, namely those who are of two or more races and Hispanic and Latinx, have almost exclusively been responsible for Wyoming's population growth.

The 2020 census showed that several areas in the state saw population growth. Some of these communities were Cody, Jackson, Gillette, Casper, and Sheridan. One of the reasons is the popularity of remote work in the past two years. But these communities are struggling to supply enough housing for this new growth. Wyoming Public Radio's Hugh Cook focuses on how the population growth in Sheridan is impacting the community.