Town · Hot Springs County, Wyoming

Thermopolis, Wyoming

Thermopolis is a town in Hot Springs County, Wyoming. It has 2,709 residents. Thermopolis, Wyoming has a quality-of-life score of 78 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,379 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wyoming it ranks #18 of 56 cities and towns. It ranks best on gyms and fitness centers (high), fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low) and violent crime rate (low). It ranks worst on distance to an Amtrak station (high), injury deaths (high) and firearm deaths (high).

78High

Quality-of-life score: #3,379 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wyoming: #18 of 56 in WY
Population: 2,709 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,134.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 5676515

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

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

Safety66#5,361/15,637
Economy53#7,297/15,631
Housing73#3,989/14,977
Health37#9,904/15,609
Healthcare38#9,730/15,650
Environment76#3,673/15,453
Education71#4,561/15,649
Infrastructure79#3,263/15,650
Community81#2,912/15,651
Leisure & amenities98#283/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Thermopolis, Wyoming ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Hot Springs 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

Gyms and fitness centers · high4.3 /10k
100/100Wyoming 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHot Springs County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low3.8 µg/m³
100/100Wyoming 4.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyHot Springs County value
Violent crime rate · low22 /100k
100/100Wyoming 180 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2022Federal Bureau of InvestigationHot Springs County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high17.4 /10k
98/100Wyoming 8.5 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHot Springs County value
Average commute time · low13.9 min
98/100Wyoming 18.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Public EV charging ports · high21.7 /10k
97/100Wyoming 5.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyHot Springs County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an Amtrak station · high274 mi
1/100Wyoming 173 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauHot Springs County value
Injury deaths · high163 /100k
2/100Wyoming 101 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHot Springs County value
Firearm deaths · high29.9 /100k
2/100Wyoming 25.3 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataHot Springs County value
Suicide rate · high28.7 /100k
5/100Wyoming 30.0 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataHot Springs County value
Distance to an airport · high125 mi
5/100Wyoming 131 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauHot Springs County value
Job growth · low-2.7%
8/100Wyoming -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataHot Springs County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
35.6% (2015-2019) → 56.8% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.4 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.8% (2015-2019) → 95.3% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
23.8% (2015-2019) → 37.0% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
27.5% (2015-2019) → 33.5% (2020-2024)
+6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Average commute timeImproving
18.9 min (2015-2019) → 13.9 min (2020-2024)
−26%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Thermopolis, Wyoming improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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.

Improved1

Broadband+14 points80.8% → 95.3%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Thermopolis, Wyoming between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.9 min2015-2019	13.9 min2020-2024	−5.0 min	Within the margin of error	90%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.3%2015-2019	29.3%2020-2024	+4 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Broadband subscriptions	80.8%2015-2019	95.3%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	78%
Child poverty rate	23.8%2015-2019	37.0%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Effective property tax rate	0.63%2015-2019	0.75%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	5%
High school diploma or higher	94.4%2015-2019	95.5%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Home price to income ratio	2.6×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	40%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3902015-2019	0.4082020-2024	+0.018	Within the margin of error	35%
Median household income	$53,1622015-2019	$65,2082020-2024	+23%	Within the margin of error	39%
Poverty rate	15.2%2015-2019	18.6%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Rent-burdened households	35.6%2015-2019	56.8%2020-2024	+21 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.5%2015-2019	16.9%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	12%

“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 Thermopolis, Wyoming five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Thermopolis, 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, Thermopolis, Wyoming itself moved −5.8 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

2,709 residents (±231)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

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

Household income

1,290 households (±153)

Thermopolis, Wyoming
Wyoming share

Under $25k21%†274
$25k–50k24%†315
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,290 households (±153)

Thermopolis, Wyoming
Wyoming share

Own73%943
Rent27%†347

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

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,191 workers (±168)

Thermopolis, Wyoming
Wyoming share

Drive alone75%896
Carpool7.6%†91
Public transit0.0%0

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 Hot Springs County, the county holding most of Thermopolis's residents.

Hot Springs County has 182 employer establishments, 391 for every 10,000 residents (1.58× the US rate of 248; 0.96× Wyoming's), with 1,424 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,908. The Census Bureau also counts 468 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 182; 468 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 391; US 248 · Wyoming 408
Paid employees: 1,424
Average annual pay: $51,908; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	13	28	1.81×More than typical	50	$61,820	32
Restaurants and other eating places	11	23.7	1.29×More than typical	166	$16,343	6
Ambulatory health care services	9	19.4	0.93×Too few to compare	59	$44,407	19
Construction of buildings	9	19.4	2.56×Too few to compare	23	$39,565	17
Lessors of real estate	8	17.2	1.40×Too few to compare	16	$24,063	64
Truck transportation	7	15.1	2.98×Too few to compare	37	$60,459	7
Offices of other health practitioners	6	12.9	2.12×Too few to compare	36	$38,611	8
Religious organizations	6	12.9	2.33×Too few to compare	17	$20,529	—
Traveler accommodation	6	12.9	7.15×Too few to compare	69	$23,130	5
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	5	10.8	4.04×Too few to compare	33	$23,727	3
Building equipment contractors	5	10.8	1.79×Too few to compare	35	$59,571	6
Full-service restaurants	5	10.8	1.40×Too few to compare	96	$18,531	3

Rank places for an industry Open Hot Springs County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 4,651 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Hot Springs 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.

Thermopolis, 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.

Hot Springs County82100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Hot Springs 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/5676515

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends