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Quality of Life in Park County
A livable area that tracks near national norms for affordability, walkability, and neighborhood health.
What does Quality of Life tell us?
Quality of Life measures an area by evaluating factors like cost of living, nearby amenities, country club access, airport proximity, socioeconomic signals and neighborhood character. For large states, this is a general average — quality of life can vary dramatically between metro areas, suburbs, and rural communities within the same state.
What does this tell us?
Quality of Life measures an area by evaluating factors like cost of living, nearby amenities, country club access, airport proximity, socioeconomic signals and neighborhood character. For large states, this is a general average — quality of life can vary dramatically between metro areas, suburbs, and rural communities within the same state.
Cost of Living
1% above national average
66%
The Real Cost of Living in Park County for 2026
| Tier | Individual | Family (4) |
|---|---|---|
| Survival | $15k | $28k |
| Comfortable | $73k | $107k |
| Luxury | $126k+ | $196k+ |
| Elite (Top 5%) | $148k+ | $230k+ |
Quality-of-Life Analysis
Park County, Wyoming, offers a spectrum of living environments that ranges from the tourist-oriented gateway town of Cody to remote, high-altitude ranching communities and the eastern gateway of Yellowstone National Park. The county attracts a mix of outdoor recreationists, second-home owners, working ranchers, and Yellowstone employees, with each area offering a distinctly different pace of life and set of amenities. The county's overall cost of living index sits at 101 (on par with the national average), but that figure masks significant variation between the county's population centers and its more isolated pockets.
Largest town(s) & population centers
Cody is the county seat and by far the largest population center, home to roughly 10,000 residents. Daily life in Cody revolves around tourism (the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, the Cody Nite Rodeo, and the East Gate of Yellowstone are major draws), but the town also functions as a regional hub for healthcare, retail, and education. Cody has a full-service hospital (Cody Regional Health), a community college (Northwest College's Cody Center), and a commercial airport (Yellowstone Regional Airport) with daily flights to Denver. The town's median home value is $374,200, and the median rent is $933, making it the most expensive housing market in the county. The average commute in the county is a short 16.3 minutes, reflecting the compact nature of Cody and the fact that many residents live and work within the same town. Powell, the county's second-largest town (population ~6,000), sits 20 miles east of Cody and offers a quieter, more agricultural feel. Powell is home to Northwest College and a strong farming community, with housing prices typically 10–15% lower than Cody's.
Smaller towns & rural pockets
Beyond Cody and Powell, Park County contains several smaller communities that offer a more isolated, land-based lifestyle. Meeteetse (population ~350) lies 30 miles south of Cody along the Greybull River and is a classic Wyoming ranching town with a single gas station, a small school, and a strong sense of self-reliance. Wapiti and Valley are unincorporated areas along the North Fork of the Shoshone River, stretching west from Cody toward Yellowstone's East Entrance. These areas are dominated by vacation homes, guest ranches, and U.S. Forest Service land, with very few year-round services. Clark, north of Powell near the Montana border, is a sparsely populated farming and ranching area with no incorporated town center. Yellowstone National Park itself occupies the western portion of the county, though its year-round population is negligible (mostly park employees living in government housing).
Cost & lifestyle range
The cost of living in Park County varies dramatically by location. At the high end, Cody's newer subdivisions (such as those near the golf course or along the South Fork) see home values well above the county median, often exceeding $500,000, while the town's historic district offers smaller, older homes in the $250,000–$350,000 range. At the low end, Powell and Meeteetse offer more affordable housing, with some fixer-upper homes in Powell available for under $200,000. Rental costs follow the same pattern: Cody's median rent of $933 is the county's highest, while Powell and Meeteetse rentals often fall below $800. Lifestyle differences are equally stark. Cody residents have access to restaurants, a movie theater, a recreation center, and regular cultural events. In Meeteetse or Clark, residents may drive 30–45 minutes for groceries or medical care. The county's average commute of 16.3 minutes is misleading for those in the rural pockets, where a 45-minute drive to Cody for work or school is common.
Who thrives in Park County depends heavily on which part of the county they choose. Remote workers and retirees who value solitude and land often gravitate toward Meeteetse or the Wapiti Valley. Families and professionals who need reliable schools, healthcare, and employment tend to settle in Cody or Powell. Seasonal workers and Yellowstone employees typically rent in Cody or live in park housing. The county's low crime rates, strong sense of community, and unparalleled access to outdoor recreation (Shoshone National Forest, the Absaroka Range, and Yellowstone itself) are common threads across all areas, but the trade-offs in convenience, cost, and social life are substantial enough that newcomers should visit each subregion before deciding where to land.
Crime in Park County
Generally safer than 71% of comparable U.S. locations.
Violent CrimeViolent Crime Analysis
Property CrimeProperty Crime Analysis
Crime Analysis
Park County, Wyoming, presents a notably safer environment than the national average, with a violent crime rate of 172.6 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 1,014.2 per 100,000. While no community is crime-free, these figures place the county well below U.S. benchmarks, though property crime warrants attention, particularly in the county's largest town, Cody. The county's small-town character and strong community ties contribute to a general sense of security, but residents should remain aware of localized risks, especially in areas with higher tourist traffic or transient populations.
Crime in context
Park County's violent crime rate of 172.6 per 100,000 is roughly half the national rate of 380 per 100,000, and significantly lower than Wyoming's state average of 229 per 100,000. Property crime, at 1,014.2 per 100,000, sits slightly below the national rate of 1,954 per 100,000 but is higher than the Wyoming state average of 1,450 per 100,000. This suggests that while violent incidents are rare, theft and burglary are more common than in other parts of the state. The county's judicial system, operating under the conservative legal framework of Wyoming's Fifth Judicial District, tends to prioritize public safety and victim rights, with prosecutors in Cody and Powell taking a firm stance on repeat offenders. This contrasts with more progressive jurisdictions in larger states, where lenient sentencing and district attorney policies have been linked to rising recidivism and community safety concerns.
What residents experience
For most residents, daily life in Park County feels safe. The most common crimes are property-related: vehicle break-ins, theft from unlocked sheds, and occasional burglaries in rural areas. Cody, the county seat and largest town, sees the bulk of reported incidents, particularly during the summer tourist season when transient populations increase. Powell, home to Northwest College, experiences lower overall crime but has periodic issues with alcohol-related disturbances and minor thefts near campus. Smaller communities like Meeteetse and Clark report very few incidents, largely due to their remote, tight-knit populations. Violent crime is rare and typically involves domestic disputes or isolated incidents, not random attacks. The Yellowstone National Park gateway communities, including Wapiti and the area around the East Entrance, see elevated property crime during peak visitation months, as opportunistic thieves target vehicles parked at trailheads.
Neighborhood-level variation
Safety varies noticeably within Park County. The historic downtown Cody area and newer subdivisions near the Buffalo Bill Center of the West are generally very safe, with low incident rates. However, the South Fork Road corridor and areas near the Cody rodeo grounds have seen higher rates of property crime, particularly during summer events. Powell's residential neighborhoods west of the college are considered the safest in town, while the area around the railroad tracks and older commercial district has a slightly higher incidence of petty crime. For those seeking the lowest crime rates, the unincorporated communities of Ralston, Garland, and the rural stretches between Cody and Powell report virtually no violent crime and minimal property theft. Homeowners in these areas benefit from strong neighborhood watch networks and the deterrent effect of Wyoming's Castle Doctrine laws, which provide robust legal protections for self-defense. The county's conservative judicial philosophy, with elected judges and a district attorney focused on accountability, reinforces a culture where criminal behavior carries real consequences, unlike the revolving-door justice systems seen in some progressive urban centers.
* Values derived from national, state, county, city and local statistics and may differ in a specific area. Last updated: 2026-07-24T05:59:17.000Z
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