Living in Guernsey, Wyoming: homes, schools and costs

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 4.5 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 Guernsey 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 town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byPlatte County Hospital in Wheatland, about 19 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 173 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 Guernsey 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: $224,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 15%Platte County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $50,114U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 82%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940: 16%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 7%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 15% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Wyoming outside metro areas, not Guernsey 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: 1,1042020: 1,129
Median age: 60 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 40%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 14%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%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

Work from home: 8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 10%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Platte County Hospital, Wheatland, WY, about 19 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Regional West Medical Center, Scottsbluff, NE, about 61 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 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

3 public schools in Guernsey, run by Platte County School District #2.

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.

Weather

January average low: 14°F
July average high: 89°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 65 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 174 a year
Rain and melted snow: 14.9 inches a year
Snow: 28 inches a year
Elevation: 4,340 feet

Weather stations: Guernsey Dam #2 (2 miles away) and Old Ft Laramie (10 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

Platte County HospitalEmergency room19

Cheyenne, WYCity of 67,00079

Denver, COMetro of 3.1 million173

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: Platte County Hospital, Cheyenne, Denver.

Platte County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Lake Guernsey State Park and Guernsey Lake Park. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Fort Laramie National Historic Site10 miles
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument50 miles
Scotts Bluff National Monument59 miles

Read about Guernsey's history on Wikipedia.

Know Guernsey?

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

Wheatland, WY3,500 people, 18 miles
Torrington, WY6,200 people, 32 miles
Lusk, WY1,400 people, 37 miles
Douglas, WY6,500 people, 48 miles
Mitchell, NE1,500 people, 53 miles
Scottsbluff, NE14,300 people, 62 miles

Smaller places

Fort Laramie, WY224 people, 12 miles

Sources

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.