The population of Albany County, including Laramie, grew by 4.5 percent from 2010-15,
while other non-energy-producing counties -- as well as some energy-producing counties
-- also saw increases. Changes in growth patterns at the municipal, county and state
levels in Wyoming from 2010-15 are explained in a new bulletin from UW’s Wyoming Open
Spaces Initiative. (UW Photo)
A new publication from the Wyoming Open Spaces Initiative at the University of Wyoming
describes recent patterns of population growth and change in Wyoming.
The latest in a series of bulletins that have tracked Wyoming’s population since 1990,
“Population Growth in Wyoming: 2010-2015,” led by UW Professor David “Tex” Taylor,
uses U.S. Census Bureau population estimates to explain changes in population growth
patterns at the municipal, county and state levels in Wyoming from 2010-15.
Since 2010, Wyoming has experienced moderate population growth, increasing by 3.9
percent from 2010 through 2015. That rate is slightly above the national average (3.7
percent), but well below that of regional states including North Dakota (12.2 percent),
Colorado (7.9 percent), Utah (7.8 percent), Idaho (5.2 percent) and South Dakota (5.1
percent). Wyoming’s population growth rate from 2010-15 was comparable to the rates
of Montana (4.2 percent) and Nebraska (3.5 percent).
Between 2010 and 2015, 20 percent of Wyoming’s population growth occurred in rural
areas of the state. Though rural population growth for this time period has slowed
compared to 2000-2010, when one-third of growth occurred in rural areas, rural residential
development has important implications for Wyoming, including loss of open space and
increasing the cost of community services to local governments. In 2015, slightly
more than 30 percent of Wyoming residents lived in rural areas of the state.
During 2010-15, the fastest-growing counties included both energy-producing counties
such as Natrona (8.9 percent) and Campbell (6.7 percent), and mostly non-energy-producing
counties such as Teton (8.3 percent) and Albany (4.5 percent). At the other end of
the spectrum, counties that experienced a net loss in population included those with
older populations such as Hot Springs (-1.4 percent) and Washakie (-2.5 percent),
and energy-producing counties such as Sublette (-3.6 percent), Carbon (-1.8 percent)
and Uinta (-1.3 percent).
Sublette County, which recorded the largest population growth rate in Wyoming between
2000 and 2010 (+73 percent), experienced the largest negative population growth rate
between 2010 and 2015 due to a boom in natural gas production (2000-08) followed by
a decrease in development caused by a decline in natural gas prices (2008-2015).
“Understanding changing population patterns is a key step in understanding growth
issues in Wyoming,” says report author Taylor, of UW’s Department of Agricultural
and Applied Economics. “Our analysis shows that Wyoming’s population growth is happening
in both rural and urban areas of the state, with much of the change being driven by
energy markets.”
From 2015 to 2017, Wyoming’s total population declined by nearly 6,800 residents,
or 1.2 percent. The annual decrease in 2017 (-5,595) was the largest decline for the
state in 25 years, due to people leaving the state.
Historically, Wyoming has experienced substantial fluctuations in its population growth.
After increasing by more than 50 percent during the “energy boom” from 1970-1983,
Wyoming’s population declined by more than 10 percent during the “energy bust” of
1983-1990. Since then, Wyoming’s population has continued to fluctuate, although at
a more moderate rate. Wyoming’s population increased by nearly 9 percent between 1990-2000
and by more than 14 percent between 2000-2010.
The Wyoming Open Spaces Initiative is a collaborative effort of the Ruckelshaus Institute
of Environment and Natural Resources, the Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center,
the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, the Department of Geography,
UW Extension and the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database. The initiative supports Wyoming
citizens’ conservation of open spaces through research, information, education and
decision-making assistance. The research group considers agricultural sustainability,
community planning and development, wildlife, and other related cultural, economic
and environmental issues of importance in Wyoming.
Download the publication at www.uwyo.edu/haub, or request a copy by emailing ruckelshaus@uwyo.edu or by calling (307) 766-5146.
