Casper composite
51.5 /100
Grade B- · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Casper vs Cheyenne
Casper, WY and Cheyenne, WY side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 51.5
- Casper Life Score
- B-
- Casper grade
- 51.5
- Cheyenne Life Score
- B-
- Cheyenne grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Casper scores higher on 4 (cost of living, rent, safety, childcare) and Cheyenne on 3 (wages, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Casper vs Cheyenne across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Casper Cheyenne ◗
cost of living
48
35
wages
39
63
rent
85
69
safety
89
88
schools
2
2
childcare
64
63
environment
15
17
Casper and Cheyenne differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Casper has a cost-of-living index of 93.8 vs Cheyenne's 96.5 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $61,647 in Casper and $64,093 in Cheyenne. A 2-bedroom averages $1,082/mo vs $1,174/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Casper vs Cheyenne Comparison
Casper (WY) and Cheyenne (WY) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 93.8 for Casper against 96.5 for Cheyenne, a 2.7-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,082/mo in Casper and $1,174/mo in Cheyenne, a $92/mo difference that compounds to $1,104 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $61,647 across 33,190 jobs in Casper against $64,093 across 42,290 jobs in Cheyenne. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Casper carries the same local purchasing power as $102,837 in Cheyenne - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 190.9 per 100,000 residents in WY vs 190.9 in WY, with property-crime rates of 1187.7 and 1187.7 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: WY lists 351 public schools at a 11.4:1 student-teacher ratio, while WY lists 351 schools at 11.4:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $8,502/yr in the Casper area versus $8,502/yr in Cheyenne - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Casper and Cheyenne are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Cheyenne composite
51.5 /100
Grade B- · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-2.7 pts
Casper vs Cheyenne BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$92 /mo
Cheyenne priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Casper
Casper composite (Grade B-)
Cheyenne
Cheyenne composite (Grade B-)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Casper | Cheyenne |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 93.8 | 96.5 |
| Goods | 95.4 | 95.4 |
| Services | 78.9 | 78.0 |
| Rents | 74.2 | 89.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Cheyenne gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Casper?
$
Equivalent in Cheyenne:
$102,837
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Casper: 93.8, Cheyenne: 96.5, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Casper | Cheyenne |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $767/mo | $809/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $852/mo | $917/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,082/mo | $1,174/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,505/mo | $1,633/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,815/mo | $1,969/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Casper | Cheyenne |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $61,647 | $64,093 |
| Total Employment | 33,190 | 42,290 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Casper (WY) | Cheyenne (WY) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 190.9 | 190.9 |
| Property Crime | 1187.7 | 1187.7 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | WY | WY |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 351 | 351 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 11.4:1 | 11.4:1 |
| Charter Schools | 1.4% | 1.4% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | WY | WY |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $8,502/yr | $8,502/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,656/yr | $7,656/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,689/yr | $7,689/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | WY | WY |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 78 | 78 |
| Water Systems | 316 | 316 |
| Superfund Sites | 3 | 3 |
| Water Violations | 713 | 713 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Casper | Cheyenne |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 43.0 | 45.0 |
| Good Air Days | 77.0% | 74.0% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 6 days | 4 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | WY | WY |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 7/100 | 7/100 |
| Total Violations | 32,465 | 32,465 |
| Health-Based Violations | 4,023 | 4,023 |
| Systems with Violations | 94.5% | 94.5% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | WY | WY |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 95 | 95 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | WY | WY |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 79/100 | 79/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 37.9 | 37.9 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 40.7 | 40.7 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Casper more expensive than Cheyenne? ▼
Casper has a cost of living index of 93.8 compared to Cheyenne's 96.5 (national average = 100). Cheyenne is 2.7 points above Casper on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Casper and Cheyenne? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,082/mo in Casper vs $1,174/mo in Cheyenne, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $767/mo to $809/mo.
How do salaries compare between Casper and Cheyenne? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $61,647 in Casper and $64,093 in Cheyenne, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Casper has the same purchasing power as $102,837 in Cheyenne.
Is Casper or Cheyenne safer? ▼
At the state level, WY has a violent crime rate of 190.9 per 100,000 residents compared to WY's 190.9 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1187.7 vs 1187.7 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Casper and Cheyenne? ▼
WY has 351 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 11.4:1, while WY has 351 schools at 11.4:1. Charter schools make up 1.4% of WY schools vs 1.4% in WY. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial