Evansville tops the state with fastest population growth in 2024

CHEYENNE (WNE) — According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly half of the 31 large cities and towns (those with a population of more than 2,000 people) in Wyoming added residents between July 1, 2023 and July 1, 2024.

These new estimates provide a look at how the population has changed in each of Wyoming’s incorporated communities since the 2020 Census.

For cities and towns with a population over 2,000, Evansville demonstrated the fastest annual growth (2.1%), followed by Laramie (1.6%) and Mills (1.6%). Laramie (516), Cheyenne (417), Gillette (323) and Sheridan (230) showed the largest numerical addition from 2023 to 2024.

Three cities or towns — Pinedale (-34), Wheatland (-51) and Kemmerer (-26) — experienced annual population declines of more than 1%.

Evanston is the only place that lost more than 100 residents during the year.

As of July 1, 2024, 68.6%, or 403,303 people in Wyoming, lived in incorporated places. Nearly half (49.2%) of the state’s residents lived in 11 cities and towns with a population of more than 10,000. Wyoming’s total population grew 2,551, or 0.4%, in 2024, and this growth rate was slightly slower than the combined population change for these 11 larger cities.

“In the past a couple of years, Wyoming’s large cities have mostly reversed the population declines experienced in 2021 and 2022 due to COVID-19,” noted Wenlin Liu, chief economist with the state of Wyoming’s Economic Analysis Division. “Many individuals with telework capabilities opted to move to rural and lower cost areas during the pandemic.”

The report can be viewed online at tinyurl. com/wyo-population.

This story was published on May 17, 2025.