Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Wyoming

Alpine, Wyoming

Alpine is a small town of about 1,400 people in Lincoln County, Wyoming, about 5,700 feet above sea level. It's growing fast: its population is up 12% since 2020. A typical home costs about 6.3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Salt Lake City, is about 172 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom town

Population
1,382
up 12% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$621,600
Lincoln County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$98,942
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Wyoming
91.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
24 miles
Jackson, WY
To Salt Lake City
172 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.4% below the U.S. average in the parts of Wyoming outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Alpine itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Jackson Hole High School, about 23 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySt. Johns Medical Center in Jackson, about 24 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySalt Lake City is about 172 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Alpine meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Boom town. The population is up 12% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$621,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Lincoln County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,313 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$98,942U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
44%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,608 a yearWyoming: $1,767
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
17%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
6%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
91.6U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Wyoming outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Wyoming outside metro areas, not Alpine alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,3822020: 1,229
Median age
33.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
5%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Retail (11%); construction (9%)
Unemployment rate
0%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
8%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Johns Medical Center, Jackson, WY, about 24 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Alpine itself. The nearest public high school is Jackson Hole High School, about 23 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Wyoming's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription
88%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
11°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
14 a year
Nights at or below freezing
198 a year
Rain and melted snow
17.6 inches a year
Snow
78 inches a year
Elevation
5,661 feet

Weather stations: Swan Valley (22 miles away) and Jackson (25 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: St. Johns Medical Center, Idaho Falls, Salt Lake City.

Lincoln County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Grand Teton National Park28 miles

Read about Alpine's history on Wikipedia.

Know Alpine?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Alpine Northwest, WY (unincorporated)142 people, 1 mile
  • Alpine Northeast, WY (unincorporated)355 people, 2 miles
  • Nordic, WY (unincorporated)238 people, 7 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.