RELOCATION GUIDE
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Why Cheyenne?
> A skilled, educated workforce
> A mid-sized city's amenities and a casual, relaxed lifestyle
> Cultural attractions, including an active arts community, museums, symphony, amateur theater group and more
> Excellent private and public elementary and secondary schools, a community college with academic and lifestyle enrichment classes
> LEED® Gold Certified Laramie County Library
> Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, a full-service healthcare facility
> A large and growing retail community that includes national home improvement, department store, specialty and restaurant chains
> Five golf courses, extensive walking/biking trails network, botanic gardens, community parks, outdoor and indoor tennis courts, indoor ice rink
> Year-round recreational opportunities, including hiking, skiing, hunting, fishing, camping, and cycling
Cheyenne, Wyoming’s capital city, is located along the route of the nation’s first transcontinental improved thoroughfare, the historic Lincoln Highway. Today, Cheyenne sits at the intersection of two major interstates, providing easy, over-the-road access to the entire country. Cheyenne is a clean, growing, affordable city that blends the historic and the modern in a business-friendly state that has no corporate or income taxes.
Its proximity to Denver (just 90 miles south) and the Front Range, its moderate climate, and its friendly inhabitants, make Cheyenne a highly appealing place to live, work, and play.
Cheyenne at a Glance
Population
Laramie County 100,863
City of Cheyenne 65,051
Taxes
Personal Income Tax Rate 0%
Corporate Income Tax Rate 0%
State Sales Tax Rate 4%
County Sales Tax Rate 2% (additional)
Quality of Life
Livability Index 72
Sunny Days per Year 327
Average Commute Time 14 Minutes
Average Home Price $360,000
Median Household Income $70,705
Households Own Their Home 65.9%
Businesses & Services
With a healthy mix of independent small businesses and recognizable national brands, Cheyenne has so much to offer! From local diners to big-box stores, you're sure to find what you need in our Local Guide (linked in the image to the right)!
5 Friendly Reasons
Real Estate Friendly
Cheyenne's real estate market has remained largely stable throughout the economic ups and downs of the last two decades. Cheyenne is alive and well, and on an upward trend in forecast market strength. It's a good place to make a smart real estate investment.
Fun & Family Friendly
Annual surveys by numerous national sources routinely rank Cheyenne and Wyoming in the top five on their lists of family-friendly cities, favorable education environment, and recreational opportunities, making Cheyenne an ideal place to live, learn, work, and play.
Air Friendly
The American Lung Association’s annual “State of the Air” report rates cities by air pollution levels, and Cheyenne boasts some of the cleanest air in the nation. Routinely at the top for both short-term and year-round particle pollution, Cheyenne’s air pollution levels are consistently the lowest among American cities.
Tax Friendly
Ranked #1 in the 2023 State Business Tax Climate Index, Cheyenne enjoys Wyoming’s low sales and property taxes. There are also no state income, inheritance, real estate sales, gift, or excise taxes, and the Wyoming State Legislature rates highly for protecting its citizens and businesses through fiscal responsibility and asset protection laws.
Business Friendly
Wyoming is one of the best states in America in which to do business. A favorable tax structure, minimal red tape, unlimited shares, low annual fees, anonymity, and privacy are just a few of the benefits to corporations in our state. Cheyenne, perfectly positioned at a major interstate crossroads, offers many commercial real estate opportunities, including several business park developments with pre-established infrastructure.
Opportunities Abound
Workforce
- Labor Force in County 50,747
- Employed in County 49,272
- Unemployed in County 1,475
- Employment Establishments 3,575
- Estimated County Unemployment Rate 2.9%
Residents enjoy a small-town feel, while the area continues to welcome newcomers thanks to a growing technology sector. 9,700+ military personnel, civil service employees, and dependents at F.E. Warren AFB provide additional workforce opportunities.
A 2023 study published by Scholaroo ranked Wyoming number one on their list of Best States to Live In. With top scores in affordability, economy, and opportunity, Wyoming is a good choice to live and invest in property.
This new report has compared the 50 states across 76 metrics distributed in eight key relevant categories: Affordability, Crime & Safety, Economy, Education, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Opportunity, and Quality of Life.
Overall, Fort Collins is 17.2% and Denver is 30.1% more expensive than Cheyenne. Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference. Housing is 56.7% more expensive in Fort Collins and 72.2% more expensive in Denver.
Cost of Living Comparison
Education
Laramie County School District #1
Elementary Schools 28
Junior High Schools 3
High Schools 4
Higher Education
The University of Wyoming provides quality undergraduate and graduate programs to 14,000 students from all 50 states and 90 countries. Established in 1886, UW is a nationally recognized research institution with accomplished faculty and world-class facilities. Offering 200 areas of study, UW provides an environment for success.
Find your Wyoming in one of the nation’s top outdoor schools or experience the world as your classroom with the largest study-abroad scholarship endowment of any U.S. four-year public land-grant university.
Established in 1968, Laramie County Community College is accredited with campuses in Cheyenne and Laramie and outreach centers at F.E. Warren AFB and in Pine Bluffs. A wide range of academic, career/technical, and community education programs is provided.
Aside from the 76 credit programs and concentrations leading to associates degrees, LCCC also offers 28 credit programs that lead to certificates of completion and additional college-credit training programs.
University of Wyoming
LCCC
LaramieCounty Library
The Laramie County Library is located at 2200 Pioneer Avenue. Thanks to money approved by voters, the new library is a three-story, 100,000+ square foot experience that has become a destination for the community.
- My Library Place, a spectacular interactive literacy center for children.
- Five meeting rooms for community use and eight study rooms.
- A 50-station computer center and training room plus 23 stations just for kids and teens.
- The Capital Room, a quiet reading area that serves as the living room for the community.
- An expanded collection of books, audiobooks, movies, music and more.
- The Loft, an area made just for teens.
- Self-check stations
- First LEED-certified public building in Wyoming (Gold Certification for Leadership in Energy and Environment Design).
- Named 2008 Library of the Year by Library Journal/Gale.
Train Attractions
Cheyenne Depot
Designated a National Historic Landmark, this former Union Pacific Depot has been restored to its original glory. Home to a visitor center and restaurant, the Depot also features the Cheyenne Depot Museum, rich with railroad history, exhibits, and interactive displays.
Merci Train
The Merci Train was sent to the U.S. in 1949 in gratitude for help rebuilding the nation of France after the devastation of World War II. Wyoming received one of the 50 gift-filled railroad cars which made up the train. Today, the Wyoming State Museum is home to many of those gifts, some of which are documented in a traveling exhibit.
The popularity of travel by train has seen a recent resurgence, and Cheyenne is America’s “Railroad Capital.” At its heart, Cheyenne is a railroad town. Its first residents were workers on the transcontinental railroad. Train enthusiasts will find themselves in train heaven in Cheyenne, as its various rail attractions – including Big Boy 4004 in Holiday Park and Engine 1242 in Lions Park – are really quite impressive.
Parks & Recreation
Paul Smith Children’s Village
The Village’s underlying theme is to teach concepts of sustainability from the past, present and future.
Parks
Cheyenne parks offer opportunities for children at play, hiking, walking, boating, fishing, etc. There are several sport complexes and pools including the aquatics center and spray park. Cheyenne has 5 golf courses, 12 soccer fields, 8 tennis court locations, 6 baseball/softball facilities, 3 frisbee golf locations, plus archery ranges, skate parks, and more!
Fitness
Cheyenne also offers several options for personal fitness. There are several health clubs, including Gold’s Gym and Fitness 307, as well as several options for specialized training programs, yoga and more!
Sports
The Recreation Division of the City of Cheyenne Parks & Recreation Department provides for a variety of activities available to the public in the areas of instructional activities, gymnastics, tennis lessons, adult athletics, aquatics, Ice & Events Center activities, special events and tournaments, and youth athletics.
Cheyenne Greenway Trail System
A 10-foot wide grade-separated, detached, reinforced concrete path. More than just a fancy sidewalk, the Greenway serves as a safe and accessible recreational corridor.
Botanic Gardens
Find specialty gardens, water features, and more on the 9.1 acre, nationally recognized botanic garden. In addition to the conservatory, there are rooms and gathering places local groups can rent as well as a rooftop area for parties and celebrations. The Grand Conservatory building has a classroom equipped with a working periscope that was used on military submarines.
The Great Outdoors
Outdoor adventure is waiting for you just 30 minutes west of Cheyenne! Three scenic and distinct areas — Curt Gowdy State Park, and the Pole Mountain and Vedauwoo areas within Medicine Bow National Forest — provide a rich playground for both the casual nature lover and the avid outdoor enthusiast.
Curt Gowdy State Park
Curt Gowdy is a 3,395-acre public recreation area halfway between Cheyenne and Laramie, 24 miles from each city. The park is known for its extensive trail system, fishing reservoirs, and historic Hynds Lodge. Granite Springs, Crystal, and Upper North Crow Reservoirs offer a variety of fish species and recreational boating. Curt Gowdy State Park features twelve campgrounds with reservable and non-reservable sites, with Aspen Grove campground located next to a free public horse corral.
The Great Outdoors
The Tie City and Happy Jack Trailheads provide the most popular starting points for dozens of diverse trails for hikers and bikers, as well as numerous picnic and campground sites with hundreds of reservable units.
Streams and beaver ponds provide visitors with easy access to fishing, while giant granite boulders provide entertainment for climbers and hikers. During winter, these same trails become a wonderland for sledding, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.
Some of the most beautiful natural sculptures you will see are found just 27 miles west of Cheyenne in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. Defying gravity up to 500 feet in the air, the enormous Sherman granite rocks are made of pink feldspar, white quartz, black specs of horneblende, and other minerals such as mica. At an altitude of 8,200 feet, the views from the top of these formations are breathtaking. Overlooking dense pine directly below and endless plains under the wide-open Wyoming skies, you can see up to 75 miles south. It is a place of profound beauty.
Pole Mountain Area
Vedauwoo
The Daddy of 'em All
CHEYENNE FRONTIER DAYS
July 21-30, 2023
A Native American Village, an old frontier town, a saloon, a chuck wagon cook-off, pancake breakfasts, an art show, a carnival midway, top-name entertainment, professional bull riding shows, and several parades. Cheyenne Frontier Days™ occurs each summer during the last full week in July.
Since 1897, Cheyenne has celebrated its Old West roots with this eye-popping festival, featuring the world’s largest outdoor rodeo, which draws top professionals who compete for more than $1 million in cash and prizes. Complementing the daily rodeo action are behind-the-chutes tours, trick riding, and a wild-horse race.
PRCA Rodeo
Frontier Nights
Pancake Breakfast
Cheyenne’s world-class rodeo is known for its fast pace and large number of contestants, ensuring that visitors see more rodeo action – two sections of bulls and saddle and bareback broncs daily – than they can see at any other rodeo.
Seven main stage concerts take place during Frontier Nights. Each year features a new lineup of top-name performers. 2023's entertainers include Tim McGraw, Eric Church, Zach Bryan, Old Dominion, and more!
Since 1952, the traditional free breakfast has been a favorite of locals and visitors alike. Volunteers serve more than 100,000 flapjacks, 9,200 cartons of milk and 520 gallons of coffee, along with 630 pounds of butter and 475 gallons of syrup!
CFD @ Frontier Park
Indian Village
American Indians hold an important and often overlooked place in America’s history. American Indian performers from the Eastern Shoshoni and Northern Arapaho Tribes return to CFD each year, entertaining and educating visitors about American Indian heritage and culture. Experience authentic Native American costumes, dancing, storytelling, music, and handicrafts.
Midway & Old Frontier Town
The Midway area features Carnival Americana, with a host of exciting rides, entertaining games, and a wide range of delicious fair food!
Old Frontier Town highlights Western merchants, craftspeople, an authentic chuckwagon experience, and even some special guest characters like Wild Bill Hickock and Wyatt Earp. Located between the CFD Old West Museum and the Indian Village.
At the CFD Parade, people from all over the world take in the sights and sounds of some of the top marching bands and horse-drawn vehicles in the country! The parade starts in front of the Wyoming Capitol and follows the parade route through downtown Cheyenne.
PBR IS THRILLED TO BRING ITS TEAM SERIES EVENT TO THE “DADDY OF ’EM ALL”
The PBR Team Series is an elite league which launched in July 2022 at Cheyenne Frontier Days, featuring the world’s top bull riders competing on teams in 5-on-5 bull riding games.
Converging on the CFD Old West Museum like cowboys to the rodeo arena, the artists celebrate the West’s frontier past, its culture, its magnificent scenery, and the Western way of life through their impressive works of art. This show attracts artists from across the nation who share a love for the American West and its traditions.
Saturday/Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday
Monday/Tuesday
Kick-Off Reception Thursday
Grand Parades
Professional Bull Riding
Western Art Show & Sale
Cheyenne's Big Boots
Maybe you’ve been driving around Cheyenne and noticed the giant cowboy boot statues around town. Maybe you’ve yet to travel to Cheyenne, and have been wondering what sets Cheyenne apart from other cities. Well, let us tell you a little bit about Cheyenne’s Big Boots.
“These Boots Are Made for Talking” was a joint project of the Cheyenne Depot Museum Foundation and the Downtown Development Authority. The boots were sponsored by local businesses and auctioned at a fundraiser. The nearly $100,000 raised went to the Cheyenne Depot Museum Endowment Fund to benefit the museum.
There are eighteen eight-foot tall cowboy boots displayed around Cheyenne. Each boot was painted by one or more of the area’s creative and talented artists. The theme of the project was “If this boot could talk, what story would it tell?” The audio tour provides the opportunity to hear just that from each artist. Call (307) 316-0067 to listen to the artists reflect on their contributions to the project.
Cultural Arts
In the late 1800s‚ Cheyenne was peopled with rich cattle barons who wanted to recreate some of the high culture they had left behind on the East Coast and in Europe. At one time the largest city on the rail line between Chicago and San Francisco‚ Cheyenne had several opera houses and attracted some of the country’s finest performers.
Today‚ the 1‚500-seat Cheyenne Civic Center provides the stage for performing artists from near and far, and is home to the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra‚ which carries 110 paid musicians on its roster and attracts strong community support. The 75-year-old Cheyenne Little Theatre Players also has enjoyed robust patronage‚ drawing about 17‚000 people a year to its performances.
The visual-arts scene is equally vibrant. Harvey Deselms‚ owner of the Deselms Fine Art Gallery‚ says most of the throngs attending a national art show held each summer are interested in collecting and buying‚ but “it’s a social event‚ too. People like to come out and see and be seen and just be part of the arts community. It seems like the whole community does everything‚ from rodeos to art shows‚” Deselms says‚ adding with a laugh‚ “There can’t be too much of a sense of competition – there aren’t that many of us‚ so we have to get along.”
Looking at the city from his historical perspective‚ Dubois says it continues to be “a fun mix – one of the reasons those who live here love Cheyenne. Just because you like opera doesn’t mean you can’t like country music and vice versa‚ and here in Cheyenne‚ we’ve got it all.”
A fascinating blend of Old and New West‚ Cheyenne is a city where arts‚ culture, and style are in full bloom. That comes as a surprise to many first-time visitors‚ who associate the city only with livestock‚ cowboys and its annual Frontier Days celebration. While Cheyenne is justly proud of its Western heritage‚ it is just as proud of its professional symphony orchestra and its thriving community theater‚ as well as its museums‚ galleries, an “art walk” tour‚ and much more.
“Our fame developed because of the cowboy world‚ and while that is extremely important‚ it is not our only facet‚” says local historian Bill Dubois. “Cheyenne is truly blessed with a lot of culture. There’s something here for everybody.”
Western & Historical Cheyenne
Home to ‘All Things Western’, travelers will find more in Cheyenne than they ever expected – cowboys and cowgirls, rodeos, ranches, gunslingers, historic hotels, “Western High Style” cuisine, the Wyoming State Capitol, Western art and artifacts, and much more!
Wyoming State Capitol / State Museum
A National Historic Landmark, the Wyoming State Capitol Building is a dominant structure in the Cheyenne skyline. Historically, it is one of the most important buildings in the state (its cornerstone was laid in 1887). The Wyoming State Museum houses artifacts and collections showcasing Wyoming’s history.
Western Museums
Cheyenne is home to four excellent museums which tell the story of the West in their own way. The Nelson Museum of the West, the Wyoming State Museum, Messenger’s Old West Museum, and the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum each tell a different part of the story we all think we know when it comes to the West and cowboys.
Cheyenne Street Railway
One of the best ways to experience the history of Cheyenne is aboard a historic Trolley. Your driver will take you on a historical tour of the city, pointing out the places where history happened and regaling you with stories of legends of our past. In the fall the trolleys offer ghost tours detailing the haunts and happenings of ghosts and spirits in the city.
The City of Cheyenne had its beginning when the Union Pacific Railroad came through on its way west. The town site was first surveyed by General Grenville Dodge, and was named for an Indian tribe that roamed the area. Settlement came so fast that the nickname "Magic City of the Plains" was adopted.
On August 8, 1867, the first charter for the City of Cheyenne was established. At the time, Cheyenne was situated in the Dakota Territory and had a population of approximately 600 people. The following December, a permanent city charter was granted by the legislature. Cheyenne was proclaimed to be "a City of the First Class," organized under the provisions of the State of Wyoming, on July 9, 1945.
6106 Yellowstone Rd, Cheyenne, WY 82009
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