Why do people live in wyoming

Cowboy boots and trucks are big in Wyoming, and ranching and rodeos are part of life. The western way of life is held dear in Wyoming, with some towns hosting weekly rodeos in the summer.

Get there while you still can. Chicken-fried steak, elk, bison burgers and rack of lamb are all popular menu items in Wyoming. Wyoming has the second-lowest population density of any state in the Union. Depending on where you buy or rent a home, your nearest neighbor might not be all that close. Learn about Wyoming property taxes here. The Wyoming state mammal is the American buffalo, also known as the bison. A bull bison can weigh up to 2, pounds and their shoulders reach heights of roughly six feet.

All-Around Health and Well-Being In , Wyoming ranked at number two in the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index , meaning that it was one of the top states in the country with regards to the physical health, sense of community, financial health, social wellbeing and sense of purpose of its inhabitants.

Keep up to date with our latest rankings and articles! Enter your email to be added to our mailing list. Skip to content. Where to Live Now Moving to Wyoming? A rail line limited to the southern part of the state might have made settling in the northern parts of the state less attractive than settling in Utah, Idaho, or Colorado. But this is all speculative, since I'm no expert on railroads in Mountain West and Great Plains states.

And it's mostly the best parts, like the area around Yellowstone. Here's a PDF showing where all the federal land is in the state. Best answer: 5th or 4th generation depending on how one counts it Wyoming native here. This is actually a very complicated question with many reasons but I can touch on a few. The number one reason is lack of water; the second reason is the wax and wane of state population from energy boom and busts. As a result, most of the agriculture in the past was characterized by cattle and sheep, which need more land.

A LOT more land. Attempts to bring in smaller ag in those basins also created a great deal of tension, which resulted in power conflicts like the Johnson County War. But more than that - to build a community you need reliable - and that's a key word - sources of water.

Fossil fuels and other mineral mining such as uranium, benonite, and trona tend to create mad energy booms that raise the population levels and then deplete them again once they bust - population centers like Casper in the middle of the state and Gillette have been created that way and have grown large enough to sustain themselves.

There's a more complicated story in land ownership concerning mines and railroads which I won't go into, but that's part of it. If you would like to read more about the economics of Wyoming's past and the modern history which have contributed to its population, I highly recommend the very short book, Pushed Off the Mountain, Sold Down the River , by Sam Western, and Lawson's History of Wyoming. I would move back there in a heartbeat if I could find a job there, which has more to do with contemporary attitudes than anything else.

I love the barren plains, the wind, and the full views. It has a stark beauty in which I find much solace and joy. And characterizing an entire state by one person is not really cool. To support this: take a look at a precipitation map of the Western U. Wyoming is noticeably drier than any of its neighboring states, with the possible exception of Utah. Well, yes and no. The Oregon Trail runs right across Wyoming and was primarily active from the s until the transcontinental railroad was completed, but apparently very few people thought Wyoming was nice enough to stop in.

It's west of the th meridian , which is fairly significant for agriculture. As far as government land ownership, I'd be pretty surprised if quite a bit of that land wasn't up for grabs under the Homestead Act or something similar, but nobody wanted it.

I forgot to mention that even in places with water, in many places much of the water is alkaline, which can cause lots of problems for people and stock. That's why you have an entire county named Sweetwater , to celebrate some spot within it that had good water. Water rights are a big deal in that part of the country. You can't just park yourself next to the Platte River and start pumping water out of it, because the water already belongs to people downstream from you. Doing that during the wild-and-wooly years could get you killed.

These days it'll land you in court. Not to mention what the EPA will do to you. And the Fish and Wildlife Service. Wyoming has basically no topsoil anywhere It's all bedrock right at the surface.

Fantastic for geologists, shitty for farmers, which is a problem when you're a rural state. I too suspect railroad patterns had something to do with it, although I expect the railroads weren't there because the settlers weren't there because the soil wasn't there. There's often an assumption that all of the lower 48 is "filled in" because there are no gaps in the map, when that's not really the case.

In a way, the question ought to be "why do so many people live in Wyoming? No one has explicitly mentioned this, so: Wyoming produces a lot of coal. If you like going to stadiums and watching professional sports. Or, rooting for your favorite local team from the comfort of your couch. Because the state does not host any professional sports franchises. In this respect, it is similar to living in the Midwestern state of Iowa. Or, accept adopting other sports towns not local to your Wyoming community.

For your television viewing pleasure. Offers the best professional sports options nearby. And this is one of the best things about Colorado. Specifically, that all of the major professional sports leagues are represented. If you like being around a lot of people. And living in a more densely populated state.

Then Wyoming will fall short. We already know that Wyoming is the least populated state. But here are a few other things about remote living in Wyoming…. Because variety in shopping, dining out, and live entertainment are limited. As we have already discussed. While there are a handful of public 2-year colleges. The University of Wyoming is the only public 4-year state university.

Employment prospects are limited here. To a select few industries. Such as education, tourism, agriculture, and mining. And the nature of some of these outdoor and more rugged work environments. Lends itself to a high rate of work-related accidents. That you would in large metropolitan areas. This is another one of the characteristics of remote living in Wyoming. It is the presence of wildlife. Because of the lack of people. And vast amounts of wilderness and wide-open spaces.

Have not pushed them out of their natural habitat. But realize Wyoming is home to black bears, grizzly bears, venomous snakes, massive bison, moose, and grey wolves.

But, similar to wildlife encounters. If you are aware, smart, and prepared. Especially in the mountains, winters can last a long time. And dump plenty of snow to deal with. Dry, windy conditions. Combined with thousands of acres of forest. Can be a launchpad for wildfires. And, tornadoes occur frequently in this state. During the spring and early summer.

Since Wyoming has a very low population. It stands to reason there is not a lot of migration from other geographies into the state. Leading to an overall lack of diversity in this state.