Wyoming’s largest city, Cheyenne, gained the most population in 2023

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Nearly two-thirds of the 31 large cities and towns (over 2,000 people) in Wyoming added residents between July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023 when the largest city, Cheyenne, added the most residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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 population over 2,000, Mills demonstrated the fastest annual growth (2.1%), followed by Pinedale (1.9%) and Sheridan (1.8%), while Cheyenne (585), Sheridan (338), Casper (236) and Gillette (218) showed the most numerical addition from 2022 to 2023.

Three cities, Rawlins (-138), Wheatland (-66) and Kemmerer (-43) experienced population declines of more than 1%. Rawlins is the only place that lost more than 100 residents during the year.

As of July 1, 2023, 68.7%, or 401,086 people, in Wyoming lived in incorporated places. Nearly half of the state’s residents lived in 11 cities and towns with a population of more than 10,000. Wyoming’s total population grew 2,428, or 0.4%, in 2023, and this growth rate was the same as the combined population change for these 11 large cities.

“In 2023, Wyoming’s large cities mostly reversed COVID-19-induced 2021 and 2022 population declines,” said Wenlin Liu, chief economist with the state of Wyoming’s Economic Analysis Division. “Many people with telework capabilities chose to relocate to less-populated and lower-cost areas during the pandemic.”

This story was published on May 17, 2024.