It’s only natural to think that your home state is the greatest – and it feels oh so good when research backs it up. Several publications from Forbes to U.S. News and World Report have compared Wyoming to other states on a variety of issues, and we rank pretty well. In fact, Wyoming ranks at the top for a number of things.
With over 97,800 square miles, Wyoming covers a lot of territory, giving us plenty of room to be number one at many things.
Noé Alfaro/Flickr
Education is ultra-affordable.
Jimmy Emmerson, DVM In the education department, Wyoming ranks number one for tuition and fees. In-state tuition averages between $4,000 and $5,000. Plus, even though out-of-state tuition naturally costs more (around $15,500 to $16,200), even those prices are lower than in other states.
Prisons aren’t crowded.
Tim (Timothy) Pearce/Flickr When it comes to crime and corrections, Wyoming has the lowest percentage of prison capacity overpopulation. Considering the national average is around 5 percent over capacity and Wyoming isn’t even at half a percent, the Cowboy State clearly leads the way in keeping the prison population reasonable.
Most reliable energy.
Patrick Donnelly/Flickr Wyoming’s electricity prices are low (we rank at number 4 there), but you can count on having the energy you pay for when you need it. Our power grid reliability is number one in the nation.
The state itself isn’t crowded.
Mark Brennan/Flickr We’re number one at having a small population. With less than 600,000 residents, Wyoming is proudly the least populous state in the union.
Wyoming rocks the vote.
Gage - 2012 Electoral College map, CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikipedia The Cowboy State is the most over-represented in the electoral college. Even though our population is small, we still get three votes for the whole state.
Best…skiing…ever…
Zach Dischner/Flickr Over and over, Jackson Hole and other Wyoming resorts land at number one on lists of the top ski resorts in the country. What can we say? We have a lot of winter - we’ve gotten good at using it to our advantage.
Popular national parks.
Walter Callahan/Flickr It depends on which list you’re referencing as to whether Wyoming’s national parks are better than the rest, but Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks consistently get included when ranking them. Case in point: Wyoming is the only state represented twice on National Geographic’s list of most visited national parks.
Whether you can back it up with statistics or not, what are some of the things about Wyoming you think deserve a number one rating?
Noé Alfaro/Flickr
Jimmy Emmerson, DVM
In the education department, Wyoming ranks number one for tuition and fees. In-state tuition averages between $4,000 and $5,000. Plus, even though out-of-state tuition naturally costs more (around $15,500 to $16,200), even those prices are lower than in other states.
Tim (Timothy) Pearce/Flickr
When it comes to crime and corrections, Wyoming has the lowest percentage of prison capacity overpopulation. Considering the national average is around 5 percent over capacity and Wyoming isn’t even at half a percent, the Cowboy State clearly leads the way in keeping the prison population reasonable.
Patrick Donnelly/Flickr
Wyoming’s electricity prices are low (we rank at number 4 there), but you can count on having the energy you pay for when you need it. Our power grid reliability is number one in the nation.
Mark Brennan/Flickr
We’re number one at having a small population. With less than 600,000 residents, Wyoming is proudly the least populous state in the union.
Gage - 2012 Electoral College map, CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikipedia
The Cowboy State is the most over-represented in the electoral college. Even though our population is small, we still get three votes for the whole state.
Zach Dischner/Flickr
Over and over, Jackson Hole and other Wyoming resorts land at number one on lists of the top ski resorts in the country. What can we say? We have a lot of winter - we’ve gotten good at using it to our advantage.
Walter Callahan/Flickr
It depends on which list you’re referencing as to whether Wyoming’s national parks are better than the rest, but Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks consistently get included when ranking them. Case in point: Wyoming is the only state represented twice on National Geographic’s list of most visited national parks.
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