Laramie, WY

Micro Area Profile

38,249 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Laramie, WY micropolitan area.

76out of 100
Area Score
Top 1% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
OpportunityTop 2% of 835 metro and micro areas measured86
GrowthTop 16% of 834 metro and micro areas measured71
Housing affordability602nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured68
Climate820th of 835 metro and micro areas measured49
Physical resilienceTop 7% of 835 metro and micro areas measured87
AccessTop 26% of 835 metro and micro areas measured90
Economic stabilityTop 11% of 835 metro and micro areas measured84
The quick read

Laramie ranks in the top 2% of metro and micro areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 2.2% and median household income of $61,917.

106 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 12% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Rent takes 31% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.2 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
38,249
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$61,917
Bottom 34% nationally
Density
9/sq mi
4,274.2 sq mi of land
Median age
28.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Wyoming
Nearest major airport
LAR
25 mi · Laramie Rgnl
Median home value
$333,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 2.2%, lower than in 98% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment grew 6.9% over the past year, to 21,624 employed residents.

55% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 99% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$6,7552024 ACS 5-Year$61,917Bottom 34%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,9682024 ACS 5-Year$37,723Top 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year10.4%Top 25%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year15.6 minTop 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year55.0%Top 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year65.3%5th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202621,624Bottom 28%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+6.5%Top 3%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+6.9%Top 1%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202622,11128th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year85.3%Top 3%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year2.1%94th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.5%Top 30%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20262.2%Top 2%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.1%69th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.82.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 2.2% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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.

62% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 64% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.6 students for every full-time teacher across 13 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
17
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.6
across 13 of them
Math proficiency
62.2%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
64.4%
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 17 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Laramie High SchoolAlbany County School District #11,07016.561%64%
Laramie Middle SchoolAlbany County School District #173514.460%59%
Slade ElementaryAlbany County School District #144011.672%72%
Spring Creek ElementaryAlbany County School District #130710.672%67%
Indian Paintbrush ElementaryAlbany County School District #126911.247%57%
Snowy Range Academy · charterAlbany County School District #126011.387%82%
Velma Linford ElementaryAlbany County School District #125011.962%57%
UW Laboratory SchoolAlbany County School District #11629.062%72%
Laramie Montessori Charter School · charterAlbany County School District #19712.135%65%
Whiting High SchoolAlbany County School District #1433.910%30%
Rock River High SchoolAlbany County School District #1364.0——
Rock River ElementaryAlbany County School District #1357.030%50%

33.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Wyoming’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,925 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.58% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $963, close to the $931 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $963 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,500 a year, about 62% of the median household income here of $61,917.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $931 a month.

A median home at $333,000 costs 3.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $102,615, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
30.8%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$963
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$931
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$333,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Laramie’s median household income of $61,917, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.2Bottom 27%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year50.0%1st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±402024 ACS 5-Year18,85124th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$786Top 26%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,339Top 36%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$963Top 20%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$342024 ACS 5-Year$931Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,6532024 ACS 5-Year$333,00080th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$722024 ACS 5-Year$1,92548th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,7812024 ACS 5-Year$102,615Top 13%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.58%23rd percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year30.8%Bottom 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2252024 ACS 5-Year82646th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year4.4%73rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%18th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3582024 ACS 5-Year1,76816th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

71/ 100
Top 16% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running 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 grown 6% since 2020, reaching 39,288 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 106 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 2.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
106
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.8
Top 48% nationally
Year over year
+12%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202439k37k
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. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

3 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 81°F and January a low of 10°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 10.5 inches.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LARAMIE RGNL AP, 24.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND1.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals10.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals10°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals81°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals31991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

87 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and lightning, with inland flooding alone responsible for 36% of it. Inland flooding and lightning are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 93% of measured US metro and micro areas.

Cold waveModerate
WildfireElevated
EarthquakeModerate
HailModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, landslide, avalanche, lightning, ice storm, inland flooding, tornado, strong wind, drought, heat wave, coastal flooding, tsunami, hurricane, volcanic activity.

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

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Laramie Rgnl at 25 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year89.3%Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle25 miTop 29%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.2%Top 6%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Laramie RgnlLAR25 mi8,503 ft
Cheyenne Rgnl/Jerry Olson FldCYS59 mi9,270 ft
Shively FldSAA59 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
76
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

Cities in this metro