Dr. Wenlin Liu, Chief Economist for Wyoming's Economic Analysis Division, has published the latest Wyoming population figures, outlining gains and losses as of the summer of 2017.

And the results show Casper losing population, and Cheyenne and Laramie gaining a bit.

He looked at the period between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017, which admittedly was an even tougher time for the minerals extraction industry. What he found is somewhat predictable, given the tough times facing folks in mining and drilling.

Cities that lost the most residents in Wyoming during that period are located in regions with large proportion of mineral extraction activities or services, according to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.  These estimates provide a look at how population has changed in each of Wyoming’s incorporated places since the 2010 Census.

For cities and towns with population over 2,000, Afton is the only place that demonstrated an annual growth rate of 1.0 percent, followed by Laramie (0.7%), Cody (0.5%), and Thermopolis (0.5%).  The state’s most populous city, Cheyenne, added 23 persons.  Ten cities and towns experienced population losses of at least 1.5 percent, led by Gillette’s decrease of 5.4 percent or 1,730 residents.  After a loss of over 1,000 residents in 2016, Casper’s population shrunk again by 1,092 in 2017.

As of July 1, 2017, 68.6 percent, or 397,682 people in Wyoming lived in incorporated places.  Over 47 percent of the State’s residents lived in ten cities with population of more than 10,000.  Because of the downturn in the energy industry, Wyoming’s total population in 2017 was 5,595 less than the previous year (or -1.0%), the largest decline since 1989.  However, the contraction rate in the 99 cities and towns, in combination, was 1.2 percent during the same period.

If you want the entire list of cities and towns, gainers and losers, click HERE.

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