The 10 Worst Small Towns In Wyoming For 2023


We used Saturday Night Science to determine the worst small towns in Wyoming.

Most Americans have never been to small town Wyoming. However, as the Wyomingite who live there know, small town Wyoming is an awesome place to call home.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Wyoming has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Equality State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.

After analyzing more than 40 of Wyoming’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Wyoming where you’d never want to live:

These are the worst small towns in Wyoming for 2023:

  1. Fort Washakie
  2. Ethete
  3. Arapahoe
  4. Basin
  5. Fox Farm-College
  6. Lusk
  7. Greybull
  8. South Greeley
  9. Marbleton
  10. Mills

So what is the worst small town to call home in Wyoming for 2023? According to the most recent census data, Fort Washakie is the worst small town to live in Wyoming.

While many of these small towns have seen better days, they have wonderful communities and people. This report in no way means to knock the folks that call towns like Fort Washakie home. Everyone

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Wyoming or the worst places to live in Wyoming.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 Worst Small Towns In Wyoming For 2023

1. Fort Washakie

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,647
Median Home Value: $116,100 (4th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 18.6% (3rd worst)

2. Ethete

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,561
Median Home Value: $97,800 (2nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 26.8% (worst)

3. Arapahoe

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,665
Median Home Value: $155,000 (12th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 19.9% (2nd worst)

4. Basin

Basin, WY

Source: Wikipedia User Jordan Crouse | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,356
Median Home Value: $105,300 (3rd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 5.0% (17th worst)

5. Fox Farm-College

Fox Farm-College, WY

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 4,321
Median Home Value: $1,000 (1000th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 3.0% (22nd worst)

6. Lusk

Lusk, WY

Source: Flickr User faungg’s photos | CC BY-ND 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,577
Median Home Value: $140,000 (8th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.2% (9th worst)

7. Greybull

Greybull, WY

Source: Wikipedia User RuthAS | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,187
Median Home Value: $129,700 (6th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 12.6% (6th worst)

8. South Greeley

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 4,385
Median Home Value: $66,100 (worst)
Unemployment Rate: 5.9% (15th worst)

9. Marbleton

Marbleton, WY

Source: Wikipedia User User:Magicpiano | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,165
Median Home Value: $156,000 (13th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 12.6% (5th worst)

10. Mills

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 4,106
Median Home Value: $129,700 (6th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 7.2% (13th worst)

Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Wyoming is lousy or not?

To rank the worst small towns to live in Wyoming, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.

We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.

Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2017-2021 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (The lower, the worse)
  • Highest Unemployment Rates
  • Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
  • Education (Number of high school dropouts)
  • High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 40 to be exact.

We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2023, which is our tenth time ranking the worst small places to live in Wyoming.

There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Wyoming

If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Equality State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Wyoming, according to science:

  1. South Park (Pop. 1,896)
  2. Wilson (Pop. 1,407)
  3. Rafter J Ranch (Pop. 1,139)

For more Wyoming reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In Wyoming

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Fort Washakie 1,647 18.6% $116,100
2 Ethete 1,561 26.8% $97,800
3 Arapahoe 1,665 19.9% $155,000
4 Basin 1,356 5.0% $105,300
5 Fox Farm-College 4,321 3.0% $1,000
6 Lusk 1,577 8.2% $140,000
7 Greybull 2,187 12.6% $129,700
8 South Greeley 4,385 5.9% $66,100
9 Marbleton 1,165 12.6% $156,000
10 Mills 4,106 7.2% $129,700
11 Upton 1,031 1.7% $134,200
12 Wright 1,754 0.6% $176,700
13 Pine Bluffs 1,273 0.9% $254,400
14 Lovell 2,176 8.1% $162,600
15 Afton 2,181 9.2% $246,800
16 Wheatland 3,567 0.0% $185,500
17 Buffalo 4,389 4.2% $232,600
18 Sundance 1,361 0.0% $259,900
19 Glenrock 2,914 10.7% $196,500
20 Evansville 2,730 4.2% $198,700
21 North Rock Springs 2,497 5.3% $257,500
22 Kemmerer 2,632 1.5% $142,400
23 Newcastle 3,283 4.6% $151,300
24 Thermopolis 2,826 1.7% $159,900
25 Saratoga 1,693 0.0% $212,100
26 Grover 1,269 0.0% $393,800
27 Ranchester 1,211 2.8% $252,800
28 Warren Afb 2,884 15.2% $1,000
29 Worland 4,843 2.6% $162,700
30 Hoback 2,268 0.8% $930,700
31 Lyman 1,729 6.0% $209,400
32 Guernsey 1,016 0.8% $142,300
33 Pinedale 2,058 7.8% $252,300
34 Star Valley Ranch 2,168 1.2% $340,100
35 Sleepy Hollow 1,140 0.1% $228,400
36 Moose Wilson Road 1,130 0.5% $1,227,000
37 Bar Nunn 2,897 7.9% $257,600
38 South Park 1,896 3.8% $1,329,100
39 Wilson 1,407 0.0% $873,400
40 Rafter J Ranch 1,139 0.0% $809,200
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

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