Cost of Living in Wyoming
Wyoming's cost of living runs genuinely affordable relative to the national baseline -- a MERIC cost-of-living index of 93.7 (where 100 is the national average) and a 20th-most-affordable national ranking -- driven substantially by housing costs that sit meaningfully below the national norm across most of the state, though this record discloses Jackson/Teton County as a real, extreme exception.
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Learn moreThe statewide numbers, broken down
MERIC's cost-of-living index breaks Wyoming out as: grocery 98.9, housing 86.5, utilities 92.4, transportation 87.7, health 97.0, and miscellaneous 99.3 -- all at or below the 100 national baseline, with housing running the most favorable category. Wyoming carries the 2nd-lowest cost of living among Rocky Mountain states per this pass's research, behind only more sparsely populated neighbors.
No income tax meaningfully changes the real math
For salaried workers and retirees moving from a state that taxes income, Wyoming's zero state income tax compounds with its already-favorable cost-of-living index to produce a real, substantial after-tax gain -- see the income-taxes topic for the full mechanics. Wyoming's median household income ran approximately $75,500 in 2024, ranking 32nd nationally.
Jackson/Teton County breaks the statewide affordability story completely
The statewide cost-of-living figures above do not describe Jackson or greater Teton County, where a median home sale price around $2.1 million (mid-2026) and a genuinely constrained, resort-driven local economy put day-to-day costs -- housing above all -- on a completely different scale from the rest of the state. Anyone comparing 'Wyoming's cost of living' to their current state should confirm which Wyoming they mean; Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie, and Gillette look nothing like Jackson on this measure.
Rent runs genuinely affordable outside Teton County
Statewide median rent ran about $998/month (2024), and the statewide average 2-bedroom rent ran about $922/month (April 2025) -- with a rent-to-income ratio of roughly 26%, about 7 percentage points below the national rate. Cheyenne and Casper specifically showed one-bedroom medians around $1,018 and $764 respectively in sources reviewed this pass.
Key takeaways
- Wyoming's MERIC cost-of-living index runs 93.7 (below the 100 national baseline), ranked 20th most affordable nationally and 2nd-lowest among Rocky Mountain states.
- No state income tax compounds with the already-favorable cost-of-living picture for anyone relocating from a state that taxes income.
- Jackson/Teton County is a real, extreme exception to Wyoming's affordability story -- confirm which specific Wyoming market you're comparing before assuming statewide figures apply.
- Statewide rent runs genuinely affordable: roughly $998/month median, with a rent-to-income ratio about 7 points below the national rate.
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