Why Nobody Lives in Wyoming

did you know that Wyoming has the smallest population of any U.S state well it does in fact the whole state of Wyoming has a population that is 14 times smaller than just the city of New York seven times smaller than Los Angeles and five times smaller than Chicago now some states have small populations simply because of their land mass is so limited and yet the nation's smallest states of Rhode Island and Delaware still offer populations that are more than double wyomings and Wyoming is the 10th largest state by area anyway so its tiny population of 578 000 residents the smallest population of any U.S state by far seems almost ridiculous for a state that is about 11 times larger than New Jersey the area we now know as Wyoming was first inhabited by Native Americans thousands of years ago however Wyoming's history is part of America officially started when the Wyoming territory was carved out of Utah Delaware and Idaho back in 1868 with much of Wyoming's land mass being initially acquired by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase see Wyoming is a part of the American West and it was also included in the famous Oregon Trail which played a major role in establishing the west coast of the United States however Wyoming didn't become a U.S state until July 20th 1890. believe it or not limited population was actually the reason it took so long for Wyoming to be granted statehood back then that's because the U.S government required at least 60 000 residents for territories to become States so it wasn't until Joseph Kerry Wyoming's delegate at the time overstated the territory's population that Wyoming was able to convince Congress to make it the 44th state of America now I'm sure you're wondering why Wyoming has always struggled with its population and frankly I think there are several reasons the cowboy state has always had such limited population size see the thing is Wyoming never attracted significant settlement in the beginning because it had a difficult climate and complicated geography as Wyoming is a dry state with harsh cold and snowy Winters and rugged mountainous terrain and also from the very beginning the U.S government energy and railroad companies held major portions of the usable land there so after More Than A Century of existing as a state with limited settlement and city building the state of Wyoming had become more of a pass-through and Resource Center than a residential destination because sure there are people who want to live in nature with Incredible scenery and Grand Open Spaces however the majority of Americans seem to prefer access to amenities attractions and opportunities and even the biggest city in the state of Wyoming Cheyenne has a very modest population of 65 000 residents and very few amenities attractions or opportunities we will talk more about Cheyenne in just a moment but keep in mind that the state's other big cities are even smaller Casper has 58 000 residents Gillette has 32 000 residents and Laramie the state's fourth largest city has just 31 000 residents back to Cheyenne with a metropolitan population of 100 000 residents it isn't just the state's largest city it's also the capital of Wyoming and Cheyenne is a charmingly safe City with low unemployment and more Economic Opportunity than anywhere else in the state it's even the home of Taco John's Greenhouse data and the Sierra Trading Post Cheyenne has a median household income of sixty eight thousand dollars and a median home price of 369 thousand dollars in fact Cheyenne is growing at a rate of about two percent each year easily above the national average now while Cheyenne is growing at a healthy rate the state of Wyoming on the whole is hardly growing at all which makes little sense when you consider that Wyoming has no state income tax a growing energy employment sector and Wyoming has become a major tourism destination thanks to its world-renowned skiing hiking and kayaking to a point where most of Yellowstone National Park America's very first national park is located in the state of Wyoming which furthers the state's draw to visit is looking for an escape from the congestion and crowding of big cities now another thing to keep in mind about Wyoming's limited population size though is that the state isn't exactly begging for new residents either as Wyoming is one of the few States running at a surplus with billions of dollars held in rainy day funds and an energy economy that keeps growing while the people of Wyoming also seem quite content with all the extra space and the relaxed pace of Life there something that can only really exist in places like Wyoming where there are just 5.85 people per square mile you don't go west to compromise make yourself more comfortable no you don't go west to settle down or hurry up or draw a crowd because the truth lies West and it's time to discover yours [Laughter]

Channel: Something Different Films

Views: 4,024,190

Keywords: Why So Few People Live in Wyoming, Why Nobody Lives in Wyoming, Are There Real Cities In Wyoming, Breakdown of Wyoming's Geography, The Future of the State of Wyoming, Does Wyoming Offer Opportunities

Id: RrMD5JQ4ZYs

Length: 5min 6sec (306 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 17 2022