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Gillette vs Casper. What is different about living in Casper Wyoming and living in Gillette Wyoming? You all asked for it so here we go! What is different about Casper and Gillette! They are fairly close together but differ in population, median income and current median home price! I always suggest when you are moving to Wyoming you should different towns in Wyoming to find out which one you “belong” in! Where have you visited in Wyoming?
I think some people think of only Jackson Hole or Yellowstone when they think of Wyoming. So if you’re thinking of moving to Wyoming, you might be thinking where exactly in Wyoming shall I move to?
Hi, I’m Alisha Collins. If you’ve watched any of my other videos, you may have noticed I’m a little bit partial to Casper but I’ll admit, Casper isn’t the only city in Wyoming to consider. Let’s take a few minutes to compare Casper versus Gillette. A lot of you have asked me to do this.
Let’s start with some statistics. How about population? Gillette has approximately 32,000 people living there whereas Casper has just over double that at roughly 64,000. Okay, so Gillette is half the size population of Casper.
Gillette is Wyoming’s third largest city surprisingly. Casper, of course, is the second largest city in the state. So which one is larger by area? It really didn’t surprise me to discover that Casper is larger by area as well as population. Casper is 27.24 square miles. Gillette is definitely smaller coming in at 19 square miles. I did find it interesting that while Gillette has half the population, it is greater than half the size. So less people per square mile.
As I’m sure you hear all the time when it comes to real estate, one of the most important things to consider is location, location, location. Casper is fairly close to the center of the state, not exactly center but close enough to be able to get just about everywhere in the state within a few hours. Casper sits at the base of Casper Mountain with the North Platte River running right through town. Gillette is about two hours north and slightly east of Casper. It sits between the Bighorn Mountains and the Black Hills in South Dakota. So you can get to the mountains in about an hour and a half from the city. You can also get to Rapid City in just about two hours from Gillette or Billings, Montana in just over four hours. And like the location, real estate is up to you to decide which location is better for you.
What about median household income? Well, depending on the source you check, Casper’s median household income is right around 60,000 per hour. Gillette’s median household income is higher, around 73,000. Again depending on the source. Another plus in the Gillette column, higher income but what about the average home price?
The median home price in Casper is about 286,000 with an average square foot price of $145 a square foot. Gillette’s median home price, as per realtor.com, is 272,000 with an average square foot cost of 132. Okay, so both the median income and the median home prices are better. Well, that’s another plus for the Gillette column. Again, it depends on your source. Different sources say different things. As the market is constantly changing, I recommend you contacting a realtor hint, hint, for accurate information at the time you are considering moving to either city in Wyoming. And I can help you with a great choice of realtor in Gillette as well.
Again, since Wyoming has no state income tax, both cities are equal there. So I guess tax wise, we could compare sales tax. Turns out, both are relatively low. Both Gillette and Casper have a sales tax rate of 5%. So it’s a tie there.
Climate and weather are fairly similar in Gillette and Casper but due to the differences in terrain, there are a few things that are not the same. Gillette tends to get a little more rain than Casper. Gillette gets around 16.94 inches of rain per year, compared to Casper’s 13 inches. Casper gets more snow, believe it or not, averaging 70.3 inches, compared to Gillette’s 59 inches.
Okay, so when it comes to Wyoming, I’m sure you have heard about the wind situation. If you haven’t checked out my video on Wyoming wind, click it to learn more. If you were to ask residents of any city, like I said in the Cheyenne versus Wyoming video, which town is windier, it would probably start an argument because everyone thinks their city wins this one. The truth is that as far as average wind speed goes, with Gillette averaging 10.4 miles per hour compared to 12 miles per hour in Casper, Gillette comes out on top for this one. Weatherspark.com has a neat comparison tool where you can compare the different weather stats and how they stack up on the same chart. It looks like Gillette and Casper are pretty darn similar when it comes to the temperature range throughout the year. Casper’s average temperature range through the year is 17 to 88 degrees, and Gillette ranges from 14 to 87 degrees.
What about the political climate? We talked about this in the Cheyenne versus Casper as well. I am sure it comes as no surprise that Wyoming tends to have a reputation of being pretty conservative. And both Casper and Gillette follow that trend as well. Current voter registration shows that Gillette is presently even more conservative than Casper. Casper, or rather Natrona County, has around 72.5% of the total voters registered as Republicans compared to Campbell County where Gillette is located with 86.9%. In both communities, there are a number of unregistered voters and a very small number of voters registered for alternative parties. The percentage of voters registered as Democrats in Campbell County is 4.4%, which is quite a bit lower than Natrona County’s 13%.
How does Gillette compare to Casper for access to the great outdoors? Well, I might be a bit biased on this one but I think Casper wins this one. Since we are right at the base of Casper Mountain, hiking, skiing, mountain biking and camping are all within 15 minutes of town. Plus, the river running right through the city, kayaking, fishing and floating are all minutes from home. Gillette offers many of the same amenities, just a little further away. As we mentioned before, Gillette sits between two impressive mountain ranges, the Bighorns in Wyoming and the Black Hills in South Dakota. It is a little bit closer to the Bighorns. It takes a little over an hour to get there. So all the hiking, biking and other mountain fun is a little over an hour away. Casper has three reservoirs within an hour of the city, whereas as it takes about 45 minutes to get from Gillette to Keyhole Reservoir. So again, both cities have a lot of similar outdoor adventures available. It just takes a little more time to get to them from Gillette versus Casper.
How about the vibe in each city? Well, that one is a little bit harder for me to be unbiased about because I do live and work in Casper. My impression of Gillette is that it is friendly like most of Wyoming. Both cities have a little bit of a boom town history, which does affect the vibe of a town. I would say that both cities have worked toward diversification of their economies outside the natural resources and from what I understand, both are succeeding. I think Gillette still has a little further path to go as much as economy. They are still dependent upon natural resources. As Gillette is smaller, I have heard it feels more like a big community than a city but then again, many people say that about Casper as well.
So there you have it, Casper versus Gillette. I will leave it up to you to decide which is the right city for you. Of course, if it’s Casper, please give me a call. I’d love to help you find the home of your dreams. We have time for you. We love talking to you. And we can’t wait to hear from you in the comments below or text or phone. If you’re moving to another part of Wyoming, please give me a shout because I know agents all over the state. Remember, we want you to love where you live. See you soon.