The State of Wyoming

Economic Analysis Division released the

fifth annual “Wyoming and County Profiles”

for 2018. The publication is full of statistics

on economics, demographics, health, tax revenues

and other categories.

Data come from a variety of sources from

both federal and state agencies.

Here are some interesting statistics from

Sublette County:

• Population change: Overall, Wyoming

lost 8,285 people in 2017. Sublette County

saw a decrease of 271 over the period. Sheridan

County posted the highest number of

people who moved into a county at 175.

• Education: Sublette County boasts the

highest percent of high school graduates in

the state at 96.2 percent of the population.

Niobrara County in eastern Wyoming has

the lowest percentage of high school graduates

at 57.3 percent. In terms of people who

have a bachelor’s degree or higher, Sublette

County is below the Wyoming average of

26.7 percent at 25.4 percent. Teton County

has the highest level of people with a bachelor’s

degree or higher at 54.1 percent, while

Uinta is the lowest at 17.4 percent. Sublette

County spends $20,312 on operating costs

per enrolled student. Only five counties in

Wyoming spend more per pupil, with Fremont

spending the highest at $22,299. Based

on the fall enrollment in 2018 divided by the

number of certified teachers, Sublette County

has a student teacher ratio of 12.29, the 12th

highest in the state but below the state average

of 12.92.

• Place of birth: A majority of Wyoming’s

population was born outside the state at 53.9

percent. Sublette County has the fourth-highest

portion of people born outside Wyoming

at 62.4 percent, behind Teton County, Crook

County and Weston County. Almost 4 percent

of Sublette County’s population was

born outside the United States.

• Personal income: Sublette County has the

highest median household income in the state

of Wyoming at $84,911. The county with the

lowest median household income is Niobrara

at $36,793. Sublette County also has the highest

number of people who make incomes at or

above two times the federal poverty level in

Wyoming at 81.3 percent.

• Poverty: Despite the high incomes in

the county, poverty still exists. The number

of families in Sublette County living below

the poverty level makes up 4.5 percent of

families, below the Wyoming average of

7.3 percent. However, poverty levels spike

considerably in households headed by a single

female with no husband present. In Sublette

County, more than one-third of female

headed households with no spouse live in

poverty, at 35.3 percent (55 households out

of 156). This is considerably higher than the

average in Wyoming at 28.3 percent. Wenlin

Liu, chief economist at the Wyoming Economic

Analysis Division, said that due to the

small sample size of single-female-headed

households, the margin of error might skew

the figures.

• Uninsured: Wyoming has a high portion

of the population who lack health insurance

at 11.9 percent, above the national rate of 8.8

percent. Sublette County’s numbers are even

higher at 13.5 percent of the population with

no health insurance. Sublette County tied

for the sixth-highest rate of uninsured people.

The county with the highest portion was

Fremont County at 18.4 percent. Children

without health insurance in Sublette County

make up 9.3 percent of the population under

18, above Wyoming’s average of 7.2 percent.

Liu stated that rural areas “generally have

higher health insurance premiums than urban

areas due to market access and competition.”

• Rents: The cost of housing in Sublette

County is higher than the Wyoming average.

People in the county pay the second-highest

median rent in the state at $1,078. Only Teton

County has a higher median rent of $1,272.

Niobrara County has the lowest median rent

at $615.

• Employment and wages: The largest

employer in Sublette County is the federal,

state and local government, employing 25.7

percent of the working population. The local

government, including education, employs

the most government workers at just above

80 percent. Mining and oil and gas extraction

are the second-highest employers in the

county at 23.3 percent of the labor force. People

working in the mining and energy sector

make the highest annual wages in Sublette

County at $103,139. Those working in leisure

and hospitality, 325 employees in 2018,

make the lowest wages at $18,311. The 345

retail trade workers make the second-lowest

income at $28,382.

• Agriculture: Sublette County is home

to 398 farms and ranches covering 778,000

acres. Only six counties in Wyoming have a

lower acreage dedicated to agriculture. Cash

receipts from agriculture in Sublette County

totaled $48,046,000.

• Crime: Sublette County continues to

have low crime rates. Only 10 violent crimes

were reported in 2017. All 10 of the violent

crimes were aggravated assaults (no reported

murders, rapes or robberies). Only three counties

had a lower number of violent crimes: Niobrara,

Platte and Crook (all three have lower

populations than Sublette County). Eightyone

property crimes were reported in Sublette

County in 2017, including 68 larceny-thefts,

nine burglaries and four motor vehicle thefts.

Four Wyoming counties had a lower number

of property crimes: Big Horn, Hot Springs,

Niobrara and Weston – all of these counties

except Big Horn County have a lower population

than Sublette County. The state of

Wyoming recorded 1,184 violent crimes and

10,142 property crimes in 2017.

Trucks: People in Sublette County prefer

to drive pickup trucks. The county has the

second-highest rate of non-commercial truck

ownership in Wyoming at 32.9 percent. Only

Niobrara is higher at 34.8 percent. The number

of passenger cars registered in the county

only makes up 23.3 percent of all vehicles.

• Health care: Based on the indicators in

the 2018 County Profiles from the Wyoming

Department of Health and Wyoming Department

of Family Services, the residents of

Sublette County are in good health compared

to other counties. The percentage of adults

with a body-mass index over 30 (considered

obese by the Centers for Disease Control) in

Sublette County is 24.8 percent. This is the

second-lowest rate in the state. Teton County

comes in first with only 10 percent of the population

reporting a BMI over 30. The state average

is 28.8 percent. Sublette County has the

lowest number of adults who reported having

five or more drinks on an occasion at least

once during the past 30 days at 10.9 percent.

The statewide average is 18 percent, and the

county with the highest rate of drinking is Albany

County at 23.3 percent. Sublette County

has the second-lowest number of adults who

reported smoking at least 100 cigarettes in

their life and are currently smoking at 13.4

percent. Teton County has the lowest rate at

9.5 percent.