Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety14#13,373/15,637
Economy78#3,384/15,631
Housing72#4,249/14,977
Health48#8,112/15,609
Healthcare47#8,233/15,650
Environment82#2,730/15,453
Education82#2,746/15,649
Infrastructure71#4,499/15,650
Community18#12,799/15,651
Leisure & amenities38#9,694/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Cheyenne, Wyoming ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Laramie County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

New business applications · high144.8 /1k
100/100Wyoming 134.2 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauLaramie County value
High school diploma or higher · high95.7%
98/100Wyoming 94.2%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.6 µg/m³
98/100Wyoming 4.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLaramie County value
Average commute time · low16.0 min
97/100Wyoming 18.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Mental health providers · high506 /100k
87/100Wyoming 413 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLaramie County value
Child poverty rate · low9.0%
86/100Wyoming 10.2%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high35.6 /100k
2/100Wyoming 30.0 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLaramie County value
Firearm deaths · high29.7 /100k
3/100Wyoming 25.3 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLaramie County value
Grocery stores · low0.8 /10k
7/100Wyoming 1.4 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLaramie County value
Pharmacies · low0.8 /10k
7/100Wyoming 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLaramie County value
Comfortable days · low23.2%
9/100Wyoming 24.3%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLaramie County value
Drought exposure · high82%
10/100Wyoming 74%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAALaramie County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.0% (2015-2019) → 91.4% (2020-2024)
+6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.3× (2015-2019) → 4.2× (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
New homes permittedWorsening
5.1 /1k (2021) → 3.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−22%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$64,598 (2015-2019) → $78,839 (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
12.7% (2015-2019) → 9.0% (2020-2024)
−3.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
8.0% (2015-2019) → 11.6% (2020-2024)
+3.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Cheyenne, Wyoming improved on 5 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 6 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved5

Unemployment−1.7 points5.4% → 3.7%
Child poverty−3.7 points12.7% → 9.0%
Bachelor's++3.2 points30.4% → 33.6%
Broadband+6.4 points85.0% → 91.4%
Household income+22%$64,598 → $78,839

Declined3

Uninsured+3.6 points8.0% → 11.6%
Price / income+0.9×3.3× → 4.2×
Commute+1.8 min14.3 min → 16.0 min

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Cheyenne, Wyoming between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.3 min2015-2019	16.0 min2020-2024	+1.8 min	Declined	29%
Bachelor's degree or higher	30.4%2015-2019	33.6%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Improved	53%
Broadband subscriptions	85.0%2015-2019	91.4%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Improved	40%
Child poverty rate	12.7%2015-2019	9.0%2020-2024	−3.7 points	Improved	64%
Effective property tax rate	0.62%2015-2019	0.60%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	18%
High school diploma or higher	93.5%2015-2019	95.7%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	4.2×2020-2024	+0.9×	Declined	26%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4372015-2019	0.4212020-2024	−0.016	Within the margin of error	64%
Median household income	$64,5982015-2019	$78,8392020-2024	+22%	Improved	37%
Poverty rate	10.4%2015-2019	8.7%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Rent as share of income	29.0%2015-2019	29.5%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Rent-burdened households	48.4%2015-2019	49.0%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Unemployment rate	5.4%2015-2019	3.7%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Improved	78%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.0%2015-2019	11.6%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Declined	16%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Cheyenne, Wyoming five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cheyenne, Wyoming in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Cheyenne, Wyoming itself moved −1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

65,239 residents (±73)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 30–39 men (−1.4 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

65,239 residents (±73)

Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wyoming share

White74%48,255
Black2.8%1,797
Hispanic or Latino17%10,976
Asian1.0%666
American Indian and Alaska Native0.4%†236
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.1%†69
Other or two or more races5.0%3,240

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: White (−4.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

46,077 residents (±615)

Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wyoming share

No high school diploma4.3%1,972
High school or GED24%11,133
Some college24%11,133
Associate degree14%6,379
Bachelor's degree21%9,573
Graduate degree13%5,887

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: No high school diploma (−2.2 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

29,240 households (±531)

Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wyoming share

Under $25k14%4,128
$25k–50k17%4,948
$50k–75k16%4,696
$75k–100k16%4,777
$100k–150k20%5,925
$150k–200k10%2,956
$200k or more6.2%1,810

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $50k–75k (−4.5 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

29,240 households (±531)

Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wyoming share

Own67%19,614
Rent33%9,626

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

9,116 households (±616)

Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wyoming share

Under $75014%1,256
$750–1,00025%2,317
$1,000–1,50036%3,275

Home values

19,614 homes (±596)

Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wyoming share

Under $150k7.3%1,428
$150k–250k17%3,252
$250k–400k48%9,471

Age of homes

30,807 homes (±425)

Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wyoming share

2010 or later14%4,175
2000–200910%3,171
1980–199919%5,951

Size of homes

30,807 homes (±425)

Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wyoming share

Studio2.2%†678
1 bedroom10%3,141
2 bedrooms21%6,617

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

34,046 workers (±902)

Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wyoming share

Drive alone81%27,556
Carpool8.5%2,903
Public transit0.3%†118
Walk1.2%†420
Bike0.1%†48
Work from home7.8%2,654
Other1.0%†347

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+4.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

31,392 workers (±864)

Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wyoming share

Under 15 min56%17,630
15–29 min35%10,925
30–44 min3.1%†970

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Cheyenne, WY

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Laramie County, the county holding most of Cheyenne's residents.

Laramie County has 3,625 employer establishments, 359 for every 10,000 residents (1.45× the US rate of 248; 0.88× Wyoming's), with 37,182 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,619. The Census Bureau also counts 11,649 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,625; 11,649 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 359; US 248 · Wyoming 408
Paid employees: 37,182
Average annual pay: $56,619; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Laramie County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	243	24.1	1.15×About typical	2,144	$74,453	366
Specialty trade contractors	225	22.3	1.44×More than typical	1,471	$62,596	493
Management, scientific and technical consulting	203	20.1	3.00×More than typical	1,140	$63,240	524
Lessors of real estate	201	19.9	1.62×More than typical	669	$50,755	2,553
Restaurants and other eating places	164	16.2	0.88×About typical	3,343	$21,813	28
Legal services	141	14	2.60×More than typical	444	$76,725	101
Computer systems design and related services	109	10.8	2.49×More than typical	557	$79,896	208
Construction of buildings	104	10.3	1.36×More than typical	485	$57,031	212
Services to buildings and dwellings	95	9.4	1.40×More than typical	542	$32,432	371
Truck transportation	87	8.6	1.70×More than typical	913	$73,682	154
Offices of other health practitioners	83	8.2	1.35×More than typical	575	$45,024	172
Building equipment contractors	79	7.8	1.30×More than typical	609	$71,016	68

Rank places for an industry Open Laramie County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 100,995 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $21.9M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Cheyenne, Wyoming: $336 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $21.9M; −11% vs FY2025
Per resident: $336; US $1,994
Sole-source: 4.5%; US 30%
Single offer: 14%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$8.2M38%
Department of the Army$8M36%
Forest Service$2.5M12%
Defense Logistics Agency$1.3M5.9%
Federal Highway Administration$1.2M5.7%
Department of the Air Force$343.1K1.6%
Public Buildings Service$102.3K0.5%
Social Security Administration$47.6K0.2%

Top recipients

BRIDGER RICHARD JV LLC$5.3M24%
AECOM + TETRA TECH JOINT VENTURE$4.7M21%
TRANS AERO LLC$2.5M11%
HENSEL PHELPS CONSTRUCTION CO$2.3M10%
AFFIRMATIVE SOLUTIONS LLC$1.4M6.5%

Spending by fiscal year

8.3MFY2017
5.9MFY2018
6.2MFY2019
4.5MFY2020
3.1MFY2021
7.6MFY2022
7.5MFY2023
42M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$8.8M40%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$5.1M23%
Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812$2.5M11%
Highway, street, and bridge construction · 2373$1.3M5.8%
Professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers · 4234$1.3M5.8%
Employment services · 5613

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Cheyenne, Wyoming, so they do not add up across cities.

Cheyenne, Wyoming's figures are part of those of Laramie County, WY ($167.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 13% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Cheyenne is mostly in Laramie County.

See federal money in Laramie County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Cheyenne, Wyoming is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Harriet M. HagemanR-WY · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 0.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Laramie County73100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Cheyenne, WY66

Other cities and towns in Laramie County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/5613900

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends