The 10 Best Small Towns In Wyoming For 2026


The best small towns in Wyoming are Rafter J Ranch and South Park for 2026 based on Saturday Night Science.

By: Chris Kolmar | About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: April 18, 2026

You’ve seen these lists before. Best places to live in Wyoming. Best sururbs in Wyoming. Best counties in Wyoming.

Etc., etc., etc.

But they all focus on major cities and towns in the Equality State, and no one pays attention to the little guy.

Well, that’s all about to change as we put together a list of the superb small towns in Wyoming based on numbers–not opinions or hearsay.

We’ll dive right into our methodology in the next section, but first, we thought you might want to know which places in Wyoming ranked the best based on Saturday Night Science.

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

The 15 Best Small Towns To Live In Wyoming For 2026

  1. Rafter J Ranch
  2. South Park
  3. Story
  4. Moose Wilson Road
  5. Alpine
  6. Saratoga
  7. Wilson
  8. Warren AFB
  9. Star Valley Ranch
  10. Lyman
  11. Hoback
  12. Bar Nunn
  13. Pine Bluffs
  14. Sleepy Hollow
  15. Buffalo

Best Small Towns To Live In Wyoming Map

What’s the best small town in Wyoming? Rafter J Ranch is the best small town in Wyoming based on the most recent Census data. If you live in one of these small towns like Rafter J Ranch, chances are, you’re not surprised. After all, you know how great you have it.

But for the rest of you–keep reading, and we’ll get to just why these small towns made our list.

For more reading on the Equality State check out:

The 15 Best Small Towns In Wyoming For 2026

1. Rafter J Ranch

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 1,293
Median Income: $160,705 (1st Best)
Median Home Value: $1,487,038 (4th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.0%

2. South Park

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,093
Median Income: $116,449 (6th Best)
Median Home Value: $2,160,598 (3rd Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.0%

3. Story

Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 1,054
Median Income: $113,590 (7th Best)
Median Home Value: $512,763 (8th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.0%

4. Moose Wilson Road

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,535
Median Income: $137,500 (4th Best)
Median Home Value: $2,345,673 (2nd Best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.1%

5. Alpine

Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 1,222
Median Income: $98,942 (10th Best)
Median Home Value: $692,575 (6th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.0%

6. Saratoga

Saratoga, WY

Source: Wikipedia User Magicpiano | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,740
Median Income: $85,234 (14th Best)
Median Home Value: $291,575 (20th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.0%

7. Wilson

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,113
Median Income: $142,367 (3rd Best)
Median Home Value: $3,123,871 (1st Best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%

8. Warren Afb

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,936
Median Income: $69,432 (23rd Best)
Median Home Value: $0 (38th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.9%

9. Star Valley Ranch

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,007
Median Income: $96,071 (13th Best)
Median Home Value: $658,782 (7th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.3%

10. Lyman

Lyman, WY

Source: Wikipedia User CGP Grey | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,858
Median Income: $101,190 (9th Best)
Median Home Value: $303,543 (18th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%

11. Hoback

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 1,316
Median Income: $146,951 (2nd Best)
Median Home Value: $1,340,786 (5th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.8%

12. Bar Nunn

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,008
Median Income: $98,804 (11th Best)
Median Home Value: $356,915 (14th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%

13. Pine Bluffs

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 1,370
Median Income: $67,905 (25th Best)
Median Home Value: $329,442 (15th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.7%

14. Sleepy Hollow

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,632
Median Income: $120,504 (5th Best)
Median Home Value: $308,182 (17th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.9%

15. Buffalo

Buffalo, WY

Source: Wikipedia User Caveman1949 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 4,572
Median Income: $62,629 (32nd Best)
Median Home Value: $409,842 (11th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.3%

Best States In America

Methodology: How We Determined The Coolest Towns In Wyoming

We threw a lot of criteria at this report to get the best, most complete results of the best small towns in Wyoming possible.

Using the most recent data from the Census’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Saturday Night Science, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (Higher is better)
  • Lowest Unemployment Rates
  • Housing costs (Higher is better. More demand.)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Higher is better)
  • Highly Educated Adults (Higher is better)
  • Insurance Rates (Higher is better)
  • Commute Times (Lower is better)

We looked at places with populations lower than 5,000 people and greater than 1,000, of which there were many – 39 to be exact.

We then ranked each place in each category with scores from 1 to 39, averaged them out, and the lowest scores went to our Best Small Towns in Wyoming. Top of that list — Rafter J Ranch.

This is our eleventh time ranking the best small places to live in Wyoming.

Summary: Science Can Tackle Any Issue, Even Small Ones

We said it once, and we’ll say it again — this list: it’s just science. We did the research, crunched the numbers, and it turns out these 15 small towns in Wyoming are the best in which to live.

And who can argue with that?

The best small towns in Wyoming are Rafter J Ranch, South Park, Story, Moose Wilson Road, Alpine, Saratoga, Wilson, Warren AFB, Star Valley Ranch, and Lyman.

If you’re curious, here are the worst small towns in Wyoming:

  1. Fort Washakie
  2. Ethete
  3. Arapahoe

For more Wyoming reading, check out:

Best Small Towns In Wyoming

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Value Unemployment Rate
1 Rafter J Ranch, WY 1,293 $160,705 0.0%
2 South Park, WY 2,093 $116,449 0.0%
3 Story, WY 1,054 $113,590 0.0%
4 Moose Wilson Road, WY 1,535 $137,500 2.1%
5 Alpine, WY 1,222 $98,942 0.0%
6 Saratoga, WY 1,740 $85,234 0.0%
7 Wilson, WY 1,113 $142,367 2.9%
8 Warren Afb, WY 2,936 $69,432 0.9%
9 Star Valley Ranch, WY 2,007 $96,071 1.3%
10 Lyman, WY 1,858 $101,190 2.9%
11 Hoback, WY 1,316 $146,951 1.8%
12 Bar Nunn, WY 3,008 $98,804 3.6%
13 Pine Bluffs, WY 1,370 $67,905 0.7%
14 Sleepy Hollow, WY 1,632 $120,504 1.9%
15 Buffalo, WY 4,572 $62,629 5.3%
16 Afton, WY 2,908 $63,586 3.9%
17 Ranchester, WY 1,277 $69,464 1.5%
18 Pinedale, WY 2,048 $58,500 0.0%
19 North Rock Springs, WY 2,277 $104,350 1.6%
20 Worland, WY 4,794 $63,357 3.1%
21 Thermopolis, WY 2,709 $65,208 1.1%
22 Newcastle, WY 3,348 $82,734 0.4%
23 Mountain View, WY 1,170 $98,188 4.4%
24 Lovell, WY 2,422 $60,154 3.6%
25 Lusk, WY 1,311 $68,507 4.9%
26 Moorcroft, WY 1,096 $71,458 0.0%
27 Kemmerer, WY 2,972 $76,626 1.6%
28 Basin, WY 1,290 $65,515 0.0%
29 Greybull, WY 2,091 $65,417 2.2%
30 Evansville, WY 2,779 $76,893 6.4%
31 Glenrock, WY 2,941 $64,806 4.2%
32 Wheatland, WY 3,550 $58,750 4.9%
33 Wright, WY 1,443 $69,545 2.3%
34 Mills, WY 4,390 $50,656 8.1%
35 Fox Farm-College, WY 4,019 $48,516 4.4%
36 South Greeley, WY 4,631 $56,844 7.2%
37 Arapahoe, WY 1,240 $70,000 12.3%
38 Ethete, WY 1,326 $80,833 28.6%
39 Fort Washakie, WY 1,219 $36,875 19.3%
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

 Best Small Towns, Rankings