Casper, WY

Metro Area Profile

79,977 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Casper, WY metropolitan area.

60out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 33% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 38% of 379 published metros61
Growth720th of 821 published metros24
Housing affordability491st of 822 published metros91
Climate737th of 822 published metros55
Physical resilience452nd of 822 published metros52
AccessTop 23% of 822 published metros91
Economic stabilityTop 12% of 822 published metros82
The quick read

Unemployment is 2.6% and median household income $72,156, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published metro profiles.

Residential permitting has slowed: 144 units authorized over the past twelve months, 58% below the prior year.

A major airport is 16 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
79,977
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$72,156
Top 35% nationally
Density
15/sq mi
5340.5 sq mi of land
Median age
38.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Casper, WY
Nearest major airport
CPR
16 mi · Casper/Natrona County Intl
Median home value
$273,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 2.6% is lower than 98% of the 379 measured US metros.

Unemployment has been falling for 5 consecutive months, most recently 2.6%.

Employment fell 1.0% over the past year, to 39,288 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,040$72,156Top 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,903$42,188Top 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.6%Bottom 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute19.6 minBottom 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher27.7%Top 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment39,288Bottom 4%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-3.4%Bottom 10%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.0%Bottom 42%June 2026
Labor force40,339Bottom 4%June 2026
Labor force participation66.5%Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$60,180Bottom 45%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$48,880Top 38%2025 OEWS
Metro employment40,020Bottom 7%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.8%Bottom 7%June 2026
Unemployment rate2.6%Bottom 2%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/066.22.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 2.6% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Casper, WY
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons1,370$32,660
General and Operations Managers1,190$101,450
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,110$28,070
Office Clerks, General1,040$42,810
Registered Nurses870$83,760
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers870$58,710

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,016 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.8 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
16.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,016
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$273,000
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.78Top 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate73.7%Top 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±8637,309Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$45$1,016Top 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,967$273,000Top 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income16.9%Bottom 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate9.2%Bottom 33%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
24/ 100
Ranks 720 of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 80,410 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
144
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.8
Bottom 35% nationally
Year over year
−58%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202480k80k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 15°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 12.2 inches, including 71.8 inches of snow.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CASPER NATRONA CO AP, 16.4 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND2.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation12.2"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall71.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low15°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing46°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

52 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, wildfire and earthquake.

WildfireElevated
EarthquakeHigh
Inland floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, landslide, cold wave, avalanche, lightning, ice storm, hail, tornado, drought, heat wave, strong wind.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 16 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Casper/Natrona County IntlCPR16 mi10,165 ft
Central Wyoming RgnlRIW86 mi8,204 ft
Shively FldSAA106 mi8,801 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

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