Rock Springs, WY

Micro Area Profile

41,542 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Rock Springs, WY micropolitan area.

54out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 38% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity505th of 835 metro and micro areas measured46
Growth823rd of 834 metro and micro areas measured8
Housing affordabilityTop 15% of 835 metro and micro areas measured81
Climate740th of 835 metro and micro areas measured55
Physical resilienceTop 34% of 835 metro and micro areas measured66
AccessTop 9% of 835 metro and micro areas measured98
Economic stabilityTop 41% of 835 metro and micro areas measured59
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.4% and median household income $75,034, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

Residential permitting has slowed: 26 units authorized over the past twelve months, 38% below the prior year.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most metro and micro areas measured: rent takes 26% of renter income and the median home is 2.8 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
41,542
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$75,034
Top 27% nationally
Density
4/sq mi
10,427 sq mi of land
Median age
37.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Wyoming
Nearest major airport
RKS
11 mi · Southwest Wyoming Rgnl
Median home value
$251,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4%, lower than in 80% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 3.2% over the past year, to 18,215 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,8082024 ACS 5-Year$75,034Top 27%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,9072024 ACS 5-Year$41,511Top 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.4%Top 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.6 minTop 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year20.9%Bottom 30%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year76.7%45th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202618,215Bottom 20%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−7.4%Bottom 2%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−3.2%Bottom 10%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202618,85020th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.6%Top 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.5%96th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Top 48%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.4%Top 20%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year4.4%8th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.52.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.4% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, 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.

51% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 54% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.0 students for every full-time teacher across 22 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
25
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.0
across 22 of them
Math proficiency
50.6%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
54.4%
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 25 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Rock Springs High SchoolSweetwater County School District #11,39317.940%46%
Green River High SchoolSweetwater County School District #275717.637%54%
Rock Springs Junior HighSweetwater County School District #174615.550%58%
Pilot Butte ElementarySweetwater County School District #154715.647%54%
Eastside ElementarySweetwater County School District #154115.938%44%
Lincoln Middle SchoolSweetwater County School District #250412.370%62%
Stagecoach ElementarySweetwater County School District #139413.162%57%
Sage ElementarySweetwater County School District #135213.062%67%
Monroe Elementary SchoolSweetwater County School District #229612.367%67%
Truman ElementarySweetwater County School District #226311.067%67%
Harrison ElementarySweetwater County School District #220811.667%62%
Washington ElementarySweetwater County School District #22089.952%52%

44.1% 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 $1,542 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.61% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $996, some 9% above the $911 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $996 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $39,800 a year, about 53% of the median household income here of $75,034.

The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $911 a month.

A median home at $251,400 costs 2.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $88,806, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
26.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$996
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$911
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$251,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Rock Springs’s median household income of $75,034, 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 ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.8Bottom 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year74.6%78th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±562024 ACS 5-Year19,28925th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$854Top 41%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,263Top 22%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$996Top 30%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$352024 ACS 5-Year$911Top 37%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,6502024 ACS 5-Year$251,40065th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$742024 ACS 5-Year$1,54236th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,9642024 ACS 5-Year$88,806Top 32%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.61%27th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year26.2%Top 17%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1092024 ACS 5-Year16612th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%23rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.4%58th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3532024 ACS 5-Year1,78716th 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

8/ 100
Ranks 823 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, 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 fallen 2% since 2020, to 41,273 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 26 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
26
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.6
Bottom 10% nationally
Year over year
−38%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202442k41k
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 14°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 7.5 inches, including 54.0 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 ROCK SPRINGS AP, 10.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND1.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals7.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals54.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals14°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals48°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

66 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 71% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

WildfireModerate
EarthquakeHigh

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

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

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Southwest Wyoming Rgnl at 11 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year88.8%Top 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle11 miTop 14%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.6%Top 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Southwest Wyoming RgnlRKS11 mi10,002 ft
Kemmerer MuniEMM87 mi8,203 ft
Ralph Wenz FldPNA92 mi8,900 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
54
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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.