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Quality of Life in Washakie 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
36% below national average
116%
The Real Cost of Living in Washakie County for 2026
| Tier | Individual | Family (4) |
|---|---|---|
| Survival | $12k | $22k |
| Comfortable | $37k | $54k |
| Luxury | $102k+ | $157k+ |
| Elite (Top 5%) | $119k+ | $185k+ |
Quality-of-Life Analysis
Washakie County, located in Wyoming's Bighorn Basin, offers a quality-of-life spectrum that ranges from the modest conveniences of its seat, Worland, to the quiet isolation of Ten Sleep and the wide-open private ranchlands along the Bighorn River. The county's overall cost of living index of 64 (36% below the U.S. average) and a median home value of $188,600 attract a mix of retirees seeking low property taxes, energy-sector workers commuting to jobs in Worland or the nearby Basin fields, and outdoor enthusiasts who prioritize proximity to the Bighorn Mountains over urban amenities. Daily life in Washakie County is defined by a median commute of just 12.7 minutes — among the shortest in Wyoming — meaning residents trade long drives for time spent hunting, fishing, or farming.
Largest town(s) & population centers
Worland, home to roughly 5,700 of the county's 7,800 residents, is the undisputed hub. The town sits along the Bighorn River and U.S. Highway 20/16, and its economic backbone is agriculture (sugar beets, alfalfa, dry beans) and energy (coal-bed methane and conventional oil). Daily life centers on a small hospital, a Walmart, local grocery stores, and a few independent restaurants. The housing stock skews older: a mix of post-war ranch homes and 1970s ranches, with median rent at $725/month — one of the most affordable rental markets in Wyoming. Public schools (Washakie County School District #1) serve most students in Worland, with a single high school that fields competitive wrestling and rodeo teams. Worland's main street (10th Street) has a handful of cafes and a hardware store, but residents regularly drive 75–90 minutes east to Casper for major shopping or medical specialists.
Smaller towns & rural pockets
Ten Sleep, roughly 30 miles northwest of Worland at the foot of the Bighorn Mountains, is the county's only other incorporated town, with a population of about 260. Named for the area's Native American camping tradition, Ten Sleep today serves as a gateway to the Bighorn National Forest, with a small grocery, a gas station, and the historic Ten Sleep Saloon. Housing here is even cheaper than Worland, with some older frame homes under $120,000, though inventory is very limited. The unincorporated area of Airport Road, just west of Worland, contains a cluster of manufactured homes and small-acreage properties popular with young families and oilfield workers. Scattered along the Bighorn River and the county's irrigation canals are working ranches and farmsteads, where residents often live on 40–160 acres and commute to Worland for school or supplies. In these rural pockets, well water and septic systems are the norm, and internet access ranges from spotty DSL to newer fixed-wireless services.
Cost & lifestyle range
The cost of living in Washakie County varies modestly across its geography. Worland's median home value of $188,600 is affordable by national standards, but recent construction (fewer than 20 new single-family homes per year) keeps prices from dropping further. In Ten Sleep, median home prices sit closer to $130,000–$150,000, but buyers often face higher maintenance costs due to older infrastructure and snow loads. Rural acreage parcels outside Worland can be found for $60,000–$80,000 for raw land, but the absence of sewer and gas hookups adds thousands in initial setup. Rental availability is tight countywide — Worland's vacancy rate often dips below 3% — so newcomers need to act quickly on listings like the handful of apartments under $750/month. Amenities narrow sharply outside Worland: Ten Sleep has no full-service grocery or medical clinic, forcing a 35-mile drive for most errands. Meanwhile, property taxes remain among the lowest in the state (roughly 0.55% of assessed value), which keeps carrying costs low for homeowners across the county.
Washakie County suits people who value space, low cost of living, and immediate access to the outdoors — especially anglers, hunters, and workers in agriculture or energy who are comfortable with a car-dependent lifestyle. Retirees on fixed incomes find the low taxes and short commutes appealing, while families with young children benefit from small class sizes (Worland High School averages 85–100 students per grade). Remote workers with reliable satellite or Starlink internet can also thrive, provided they accept the by-default quiet of a town where the most common evening activity is a walk along the river levee. For anyone seeking nightlife, cultural events, or a two-year college, Washakie County will feel too narrow; for those whose priority is financial breathing room and Wyoming's original landscape, it is a deliberate and sustainable choice.
Crime in Washakie County
Generally safer than 71% of comparable U.S. locations.
Violent CrimeViolent Crime Analysis
Property CrimeProperty Crime Analysis
Crime Analysis
Washakie County, Wyoming, records violent crime at 171.7 incidents per 100,000 residents and property crime at 1,011.3 per 100,000 — figures that sit near the national average for violent offenses but well above the statewide property crime rate. The county’s low population density and rural character keep most crime concentrated in the small towns of Worland, Ten Sleep, and a handful of unincorporated areas, while the surrounding ranching country remains among the safest in the Big Horn Basin.
Crime in context
Wyoming’s statewide violent crime rate hovers around 240 per 100,000, so Washakie County is about 28% below the state average for violent offenses. Property crime, however, runs notably higher: the state average is roughly 1,400 per 100,000, and Washakie’s 1,011 per 100,000 is only modestly lower — and in years like 2022–2023 it has actually exceeded the state mean during spikes in theft and vehicle break-ins. When compared to the U.S. national violent crime rate (approximately 380 per 100,000), Washakie County is less than half as dangerous from violent incidents. The picture is mixed for property crime, which nationally stands near 1,950 per 100,000; Washakie’s rate is roughly half that, but still high enough to warrant routine precautions, especially in Worland’s commercial corridors and near the county’s two state highways, where transient theft is more common.
What residents experience
Most violent crime in Washakie County involves domestic disputes and occasional aggravated assaults rather than random stranger attacks. The county’s remote location and absence of a major interstate highway mean it sees little of the drug‑trafficking violence that plagues larger Western hubs. Property crime is the daily concern: unlocked vehicles, outbuildings, and garages are frequent targets, particularly in Worland’s older neighborhoods near the Bighorn River. In Ten Sleep and Manderson, burglaries tend to target seasonal cabins and ranch outbuildings during off‑season months. The Washakie County Sheriff’s Office and the Worland Police Department maintain a conservative, proactive policing philosophy, and the local judiciary — composed of district judges elected countywide — applies sentencing that leans toward incarceration and restitution. Unlike progressive metro jurisdictions in states like Colorado or Oregon, where lenient district attorneys have been linked to rising recidivism, Washakie County’s court system prioritizes victim restitution and public safety. Repeat offenders receive minimal tolerance, and property‑crime recidivism has been trending downward since 2021 as a result of stricter bond conditions and longer probation terms.
Neighborhood-level variation is pronounced. Worland’s subdivisions east of the airport and along the Whitney Street corridor record the highest property‑crime incident density, while the newer residential tracts west of the Washakie Medical Center report near‑zero thefts. Ten Sleep’s rural outskirts are extremely safe, but the small downtown core sees occasional vandalism during tourist season. In unincorporated areas such as Kirby and Winchester, residents rely heavily on neighbor‑watch networks and rural sheriff patrols; break‑ins are rare but tend to involve firearm theft when they occur. Overall, Washakie County offers a small‑town safety experience that stands in stark contrast to the higher violent‑crime risks of liberal‑run cities like Cheyenne or Laramie — but property‑crime awareness remains essential, particularly for those living along Highway 16 or near the county’s recreational access points.
* Values derived from national, state, county, city and local statistics and may differ in a specific area. Last updated: 2026-05-21T00:56:08.000Z
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