PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Casper, WY

51.5
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#175
of 387 metros
55%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Casper ranks #175 of 387 US metros, ahead of 55% - carried by its safety (89/100) and held back most by schools (2/100).

89
strongest: Safety
85
then: Rent
2
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Casper sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

52 55th percentile higher than 55% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). This entry sits in this band. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Casper Life Score

Casper's composite score of 51.5 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #175 of 387, ahead of 55% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (89/100) and Rent (85/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (2/100) and Environment (15/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 93.8 (rent-RPP 74.2). BLS median salary $61,647, 33,190 jobs (Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,082/mo (studio $767).

FBI UCR (WY): 191 violent, 1188 property/100K. NCES: 11.4:1 ratio, 1.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,502/yr. EPA: 3 Superfund sites (WY). Ranks #172-#178 below.

Dimension detail

How Casper scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 48/100 (20%)
Wages 39/100 (20%)
Rent 85/100 (15%)
Safety 89/100 (15%)
Schools 2/100 (10%)
Childcare 64/100 (10%)
Environment 15/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

93.8
Cost Index (RPP)
$61,647
Avg Median Salary
$1,082
2BR Fair Market Rent
191
Violent Crime/100K (WY)
11.4:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$8,502
Infant Childcare/yr (WY)
3
Superfund Sites (WY)
33,190
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Casper With...

Casper vs Cheyenne Compare → Casper vs Wildwood Compare → Casper vs Waterloo Compare → Casper vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Casper outranks 55% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#172 Appleton, WI 51.6 B-
#173 Joplin, MO-KS 51.7 B-
#174 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA 51.9 B-
#175 Casper, WY 51.5 B-
#176 Cheyenne, WY 51.5 B-
#177 Brunswick-St. Simons, GA 51.4 B-
#178 Michigan City-La Porte, IN 51.3 B-

WY Metro Scores

Cheyenne, WY B- 51.5

Using Casper's Life Score

Casper is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is safety (89/100) and its weakest is schools (2/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Casper head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Casper lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Casper's biggest strengths? ▼
Casper's strongest dimensions are Safety (89/100), Rent (85/100), Childcare (64/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Casper's weakest areas? ▼
Casper's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (2/100), Environment (15/100), Wages (39/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Casper compared to the national average? ▼
Casper's Regional Price Parity is 93.8 (6.2% less than national); rent RPP 74.2.
What is the average salary in Casper? ▼
Casper median salary: $61,647, 33,190 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Casper's 51.5/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.