Living in Lovell, WY
Big Horn County
Lovell is a real, current Big Horn Basin agricultural town in northern Big Horn County, Wyoming, founded in 1887 and substantially redefined after 1900 by a well-documented wave of Mormon (LDS Church) irrigation colonizers from Utah, who built the Sidon Canal and established the irrigated agriculture (notably sugar beets, alongside cattle and sheep ranching) that remains part of the area's identity today. Separately, Lovell is a real, current gateway community: it sits near the south entrance of Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and is the only paved-road access point to the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, one of the largest wild-horse ranges in America. Lovell's population ran 2,243 at the 2020 Census, and its housing market (a $283,787 Zillow-cited median home value) runs genuinely affordable relative to both Wyoming's own statewide figures and the national comparison figure. Lovell's senior (65+) population share (24.3%) runs substantially above the national comparison figure, and its crime rate runs genuinely, substantially low.
Explore Lovell in depth
- Moving to Lovell: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Lovell
- Housing in Lovell
- Taxes & Insurance in Lovell
- Climate in Lovell
- Schools & Families in Lovell
- Healthcare & Safety in Lovell
- Pros and Cons of Living in Lovell
- Retiring in Lovell
Thinking about moving to Lovell?
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Big Horn County level this session. Wyoming carries no income tax statewide. See the Wyoming hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Lovell-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
Genuine housing affordability relative to Wyoming's own statewide and national figures. Wyoming's real, constitutional 0% state income tax advantage applies directly, alongside a Lovell-specific property tax rate (0.60%) that runs below even Wyoming's own already-low statewide average. Genuinely, substantially low crime rates across every measure cited this pass. A real, distinct dual identity -- Mormon-pioneer agricultural heritage plus direct gateway access to Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and the Pryor Mountain wild horses. A real, substantially above-average senior population share makes Lovell a genuinely retiree-relevant market, backed by a real, current critical access hospital plus on-campus skilled nursing and assisted living.
Cons
A real, semi-arid steppe climate with hot, dry summers and genuinely low annual precipitation, in a state carrying a real #2-among-the-lower-48 statewide wildfire-risk ranking. A real, disclosed research gap on Lovell's specific school graduation-rate/proficiency data and homeowners-insurance figures. A small, remote Tier B market with a correspondingly narrower range of jobs, services, and specialist healthcare access than a larger Wyoming market.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits retirees, outdoor-recreation-minded movers, and cost-conscious buyers drawn to genuine small-town affordability, low crime, and direct access to Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and the Pryor Mountain wild horses.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers who need a broader range of jobs, services, or specialist healthcare access than a small, remote Big Horn Basin town can offer, or who are not prepared for a real, hot, dry summer/cold winter steppe climate and the state's disclosed, above-average wildfire-risk profile.
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