How does Casper Wyoming Compare in Cost of Living?
Call or text Alisha Collins, eXp Realty at 307-247-1806 or email at alisha@casperpowerhouse.com We are excited to talk with you!
If you’ve been paying attention, you already know that I think Casper, Wyoming is a pretty great place to live. We’ve covered many of the pros and cons of living here. Watching this video here.
So we know that it’s not all roses and sunshine. It’s more like wide open spaces and a little wind. But all in all, Casper is a pretty wonderful place to live, work and play. Sometimes great places to live, come with a hefty price tag.
So we have to ask, Is Casper Wyoming, one of those places?
Hi, I’m Alicia Collins with EXP Realty. Stick around while I answer that question for you.
The short answer is no.
Casper does not have a hefty price tag, especially when compared to cities with similar features such as mountains right out your back door, three reservoirs within an hour’s drive.
But let’s look a little deeper and compare. Let’s see how Casper, Wyoming itself stacks up to the national average.
Cost of Living in Casper WY
After reading several, and I do mean several different lists and charts about cost of living in Casper, Wyoming, I’ve discovered that while there are many different surveys and data sources, they don’t always agree on all of the information. One of the things they do agree on is that Wyoming and specifically Casper has a lower cost of living than the United States average.
Most sources use 100 as the United States average. Anything below that means your cost of living is lower than the national average. Anything above that means your cost of living is higher than the national average. Casper’s cost of living index, according to citydata.com is 81.4. Wow, that is more than 18% lower than the national average.
Casper’s cost of living index, according to World Population Review is 89.3, also much lower than the national average. According to bestplaces.net, Casper ranks 95.5, still lower than the national average.
Lack of healthcare options
Why is this one so high? Bestplaces.net includes the cost of healthcare, which isn’t included in some of the other reports, which it rates at a whopping 1.33.7%. Living here I can understand. Semi-rural healthcare can be expensive. A lack of competition creates a scenario in which prices can be higher for both healthcare services and insurance. The consensus among all these sites though, is that the cost of living here in Casper is overall much better than the national average. One of the most important factors considered when analyzing cost of living is housing costs. Again, each chart has its own numbers. And the only thing that they agree on is that the housing cost is lower here than Wyoming’s average, and that it is lower than the national average as well.
Housing in Casper WY is 13% Less than the national average
The largest difference is shown on world populationreview.com which shows housing at 72.3 compared to the national norm at a hundred. So they’re saying that housing in Wyoming is 27.7% lower than national average. According to zillow.com housing prices here are about 15% lower than the national average. Bestplaces.net less housing here at 13% lower than the national average and 12% lower than the rest of Wyoming. I know that Zillow is simply a number looking at the overall home value, but it’s important to note they don’t take into consideration our low property tax rates.
Lowest for property tax rates
Our state ranks sixth lowest for property tax rates in the whole country. Financial guru, Dave Ramsey reports that in 2017 the average home owner paid 3,399 in property taxes at an average of property tax rate of 1.17%. Casper’s rate is .63% or about half that of the national average. Let’s see, lower average home costs, lower property tax, Not to mention there’s no state income tax.
I’d say the cost of living in Casper is looking pretty good right about now. We’ve compared Casper and also Wyoming to the national average. Now let’s look at a couple of specific cities for comparison. Comparing Casper to Cheyenne is a pretty good place to start. These are the two largest cities in Wyoming. According to best places.net, Casper is 4.1% less expensive than Cheyenne with housing costs over 20% lower. Check out nerdwallet.com for another city-to-city comparison.
Casper VS Bozeman
I chose to compare Casper, Wyoming with Bozeman, Montana. Bozeman has a population size very comparable to Casper. Census.gov, 2019, estimates show that the population of Casper is 57,931. And Bozeman is at 49,831. Bozeman is also a mountainous region in Montana, a state similar to Wyoming with low overall population and plenty of outdoor activities to enjoy.
According to NerdWallet, the cost of living in Bozeman, Montana is 6% higher than the cost of living in Casper. They reported a lower cost of housing by 24%, but that was offset by an increase in healthcare costs resulting in 6% difference. A lot of information provided points to housing costs, being the driving force behind the lower cost of living here in Casper.
If you have any questions about housing and Casper, I happen to know an expert or two that can help you out. To summarize, when compared to the national average, Casper has the lower cost of living.
Compared to similar cities, Casper has the lower cost of living.
I’m sure that we can find a city that has a lower cost of living, but can we find one as amazing as Casper is with the lower cost of living? I doubt we can, but if you do let me know. Remember we want you to love where you live, see you soon.
