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Cheyenne, Wyoming

Cheyenne is a small city of about 67,000 people in Laramie County, Wyoming, about 6,000 feet above sea level. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.2 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, Denver, is about 95 miles away as the crow flies.

County seatSmall city

Population
66,507
up 1.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$333,700
Laramie County prices up 10% since 2022
Household income
$78,839
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Cheyenne area
96.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Cheyenne Regional Medical Center
To Denver
95 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.5% below the U.S. average in the Cheyenne metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood197 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 26.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town34 public schools: 25 elementary, 5 middle and 4 high schools.
  • A hospital close byCheyenne Regional Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 95 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 Cheyenne 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$333,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 10%Laramie County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,118 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$78,839U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
67%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,946 a yearWyoming: $1,767
Homes built before 1940
12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
14%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
96.5U.S. average = 100 (the Cheyenne metro area)

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 10% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Cheyenne metro area, not Cheyenne 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
66,5072020: 65,478
Median age
38.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
34%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

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
Schools, health care and social services (23%); retail (14%); government (11%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
9%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, Cheyenne, WY, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

34 public schools in Cheyenne, run by Laramie County School District #1.

Colleges in or next to town: Laramie County Community College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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 cable, fiber or DSL internet
83%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%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
18°F
July average high
83°F
Days 90°F or hotter
12 a year
Nights at or below freezing
169 a year
Rain and melted snow
16 inches a year
Snow
66 inches a year
Elevation
6,040 feet

Weather station: Cheyenne Wfo (2 miles away). 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: Fort Collins, Denver.

Laramie County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

57 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Fort David A. Russell, the Union Pacific Railroad Depot, Wyoming State Capitol Building and Grounds WYOMING STATE CAPITOL BUILDING AND GROUNDS and Wyoming State Capitol and Grounds. Three are National Historic Landmarks, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Rocky Mountain National Park56 miles

Campus life. Check Laramie County Community College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Cheyenne's history on Wikipedia.

Know Cheyenne?

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

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.