In response to headlines about lawmakers’ struggle to prevent the exodus of Wyomingites to other states, I turned to my young constituents and asked, “Why are you or your peers leaving?” Responses flooded my inbox and social media feed.
Opinion
I heard from students, recent graduates and young families frustrated with a lack of job opportunities, the high cost of housing, limited access to healthcare, attacks on education and the erosion of individual freedoms.
A mix of social, economic and cultural shifts makes the Equality State an increasingly challenging place for the next generation to live. Despite these barriers, I believe there is a shared desire for Wyoming to be a place where hardworking people can afford to raise a family, where our public schools prepare children for good-paying jobs and where the next generation benefits from a diversified economy.
So, what can elected leaders do to embrace this vision and reverse the exodus of young people? As an economic development professional and House District 14’s representative in the Wyoming Legislature, I believe it starts with honest conversations about the role and responsibility of government. Instead of slashing services, let’s make smart investments. Instead of passing laws that limit personal freedoms, let’s embrace Wyoming’s traditional “live and let live” tolerance for differences. Instead of shrinking government, let’s make the state a good partner to the private sector.
Wyoming can be a place where young people stay and build meaningful lives. But this requires a reckoning with the current trajectory. It requires grit, vision and a government willing to make strategic investments in healthcare, housing, education and public infrastructure. It requires cultural change — leading with kindness and curiosity, with a focus on people over politics.
As we prepare for the 2026 budget session, I invite my fellow lawmakers to join me in listening to the young people in our communities — and come ready to work on policies that give them a reason to stay.
Why does Wyoming goverment hire out-of-state individual for Administrators Directors, Police Chiefs, and etc?
Well said. Good jobs are hard to find, healthcare is hard to find, decent & affordable housing is hard (nearly impossible) to find. I hope the legislature will work to find solutions and not just yell about wokeness and how the state budget needs to be cut again. That approach isn’t working, in case they haven’t noticed.
Love the fact filled article. There were five reasons provided from students/graduates on why they leave, three of the five — access to healthcare, attack on education, erosion of individuals freedoms comes directly from the representatives that Wyomingites elect. So — this is a problem because the elected representatives are pushing young people out of their with policies that do not work to help a middle and lower class folks get a start in Wyoming. For example — Programs like school vouchers that pull money out of public education , but does give nearly enough to a young family to send their kids to a PRIVATE school. Voting to cutting affordable care insurance hurts young people who have their first low paying job that does not provide insurance, and then Wyomings approach to restrict FREE Speech on universities because they are fearful of it. Yea, young people are smart and they see right through this bull and are leaving for adjacent states that support public education, ACA, and free speech.
Historically, Wyoming’s economy has always been about exploitation of it’s resources. It began with beaver and progressed to grassland grazing and minerals extraction. When I was growing up, the state economy was almost all agriculturally based. Our local family farmers and ranchers were the economic backbone of their communities, which were comprised of close knit, caring and mostly tolerant people. Today many of those roots have been pulled out by larger firms and corporate interests that have virtually monopolized the meat and potatoes industries nationwide. Their lobbyists wine and dine and donate to people like our “Three Amigos” delegation and their predecessors and colleagues in Washington to get what they want. Politics is all about money and control and has been that way forever.
Yet even then, there was nothing here for the kids when they grew up. As has been said, this “exodus” of young people is very long lived. Young 20 somethings have little available but fast food and other part time jobs without benefits or decent hours for very low pay. The 30 and 40 somethings work two household incomes if they can find them and still have trouble making ends meet. In Rawlins, the county seat of Carbon county, if you do not work for the city, county, state or federal government, you probably don’t have a job with any kind of future. Wyoming is number one on the list of states that get most of their money from the federal government in the form of reciprocal taxes, etc., but now that has all changed and employment, health care and personal freedoms are all slated to get worse rather than better.
I worked 43 years in Wyoming’s Oil & Gas Industry. I’m not proud of it, but it was about the only thing available to me if I wanted to stay here, earn a decent wage and raise a family. Even so, it came with several boom and bust cycles that I had to ride out to stay continuously employed. Hindsight is always 20-20, but I think if there was a do-over, I’d have left too.
Susan Carr has fairly nailed it. I appreciate her and the immense amount of work she has done for this state that most will never see or understand. Far too many of our residents live in quite solitude left behind by a state that only sees bootstraps, bravado, and blue vs. red.
I moved into the state more than 20 years ago. For some, I will never be a Wyomingite – a consideration I am more comfortable with as time progresses. Over my years, I have had the pleasure of working closely with many Wyoming names. When I was first told that all senate and house members would drink together after a rough day in the Legislature, I didn’t believe it…until I was able to be a part of it. I found common ground and common values with so many people in our state, I was shocked. It was never red vs. blue. It was a a reasonable discussion and debate over values, and I will be grateful for those who have shared their values with me, who have helped me understand their point, educated me on things I did not see, and agreed that some issues are so grey, the best we can do is proceed with compassion and empathy. The idea that “Good Fences Make Good Neighbors,” erase. Wyoming wants all of Wyoming in the same fence.
What I see in the state now is appalling. What I hear from people is hurtful, if not for me for others I know and also care about. It is not entirely because of voter “issues,” but rather a disdain for simple issues that hurt most. I have never registered for any party and hope not to do so. Each and everyone of us have different values – it is what makes us unique, individuals, and it is one of our greatest freedoms. Nothing will be “perfect” for any side. That is the point.
More and more frequently however I encounter rage against any opposition. This is not the Wyoming I remember.
I am still befuddled as to why this is presented as “new” somehow to some. Gov. Mead was well aware of the issue. As a young person, I provided input in to the ENGAGE and ENDOW committees and reports. I served on the ENGAGE committee as a young person. The results are and have always been the same. Young(and not young) people with more varied and tolerant viewpoints do not want to be here, do not want to share their position with those in power for fear of the Wyoming cliche “If you don’t like it, leave.” Well, they are and have been. And more concerning for anyone in the state, they will continue to so long as our old myths and values continue.
The most concerning part of this will be the aged who cannot leave. What will happen to them? Who will take care of them? How will those in Wyoming deal with the rapidly increasing aged population? Some are fine without anyone’s help. Many are not. Many more than people realize.
We’re happy to quote the Cowboy Code of Ethics when it fits our need, when we can twist the meaning to fit the agenda, and when the statements are easy to understand in the context we want. We have perverted this and should be ashamed.
I suppose fairness and respect are numerically to low to count against what comes first and fits the need. Decades ago, Samuel Western wrote the quintessential book on Wyoming’s problem – most ostracized him for it. But as summary to his book goes “Wyoming’s woes have little to do with money but instead rethinking an old myth.” We are living the last gasps and long-drawn out twilight of a myth that was never real. It is no different than looking at the history of Cheyenne Frontier Days and Denver’s National Western Stock Show – only one city can still can itself it a Cowtown.
You need to build ,townhomes,condos, fix the “Hole” the Hynds Building, the steam plant ,the “West Edge,” in downtown Cheyenne so YOUNG people will want to stay in Cheyenne instead of going to Colorado!! Hello!! It’s very simple/! Until then this Exodus will continue!!!!
My wife and I would love to move to the “cowboy state”. However, as.a retired.wildlife biologist I would be unable to tolerate the statewide anti predator and anti Mustang sentiment in a state ruled by ranching interests determined to drive every wild non “game” species to extinction.
I graduated in 1974, Douglas Wy. At that time the energy sector was starting to pick up. So if you were in that field you had many opportunities. Douglas was a thriving town with restaurants, good shopping, and a fairly happy community. Young adults were still leaving the state. After graduating from college their exposure to what was available to pursue their goals was limited. Just as it is today.
I remember reading a book written in the 1940s stating that Wyoming was good at exporting minerals and its youth. His view was because the economy was not diversified-there were too few options.
This is still true today.
I hope you can make meaningful changes that will regain the Wyoming I grew up in – one that honors the state motto- Equality State.
Wyoming has always had challenges making our young people stay, but lately it’s gotten far worse. It used to be that we had limited regulation (so that it was possible to start a business without major hassles), low taxes, a reasonable cost of living, a “live and let live” environment. But now, the outside world has invaded and destroyed much of that. Local municipalities have brought in staff from the outside who favor the tyrannical, overbearing regulation of the places from which they’ve come, destroying business opportunities. (The author’s organization, of which she’s Executive Director, has in fact advocated some of these regulations. It’s part of a group that is based out of state.) Taxes are going up as government on the state and especially the local level is becoming bloated. The cost of living has increased, partially due to the aforementioned taxes and regulation and partially due to higher expenses imposed from without (such as the cost of building materials). And the Internet and satellite and cable TV have brought partisan polarization and isolated neighbors from one another, eliminating empathy and much of our sense of community. Our local news sources have dried up (WyoFile tries to cover statewide issues, but only occasionally covers local ones, and a whole bunch of small local papers were shut down JUST THIS WEEK), driving residents to a fragmented array of out-of-state platforms for information.
The first steps toward a solution are reviving our independent attitude and skepticism of national political parties and their agendas; replacing local news sources and FTF gathering places; and saying “no” to national trends such as bloated municipal government and overregulation. We can then become a haven for those who are frustrated with the growing polarization and hate in the rest of the country; for those who want to build new businesses (which in turn will employ our youth); to those who want to enjoy our scenic beauty and wide open spaces. We’re not going to win by following the crowd; we must make Wyoming unique, and better, again.
I agree 100% with Susan Carr. Now it all comes down to who we vote for. Susan Carr, would you run for office ?
I completely agree with Sarah, and Susan has some great points as well. I left the state for college about 15 years ago and came back around ten years ago. Then I left after one more year.
It’s unfortunate that I left because I really miss the beauty of our state and the lower taxes are nice too. I didn’t really enjoy growing up here as there wasn’t much to do, and I focused more on academic pursuits in the hopes of overcoming poverty. I didn’t quite connect with a majority of my cohort, but I still felt connected to the state because even though I didn’t have many friends, I loved the scenic beauty and the freedom of just exploring the state. After coming back during a brief break in my university career, I stumbled back into the cycle of struggling like many people I knew who stayed in Casper after growing up did. I couldn’t find a job. No one would hire me as I recently worked overseas. I was young and had professional experience but couldn’t find a job, any job, for over six months. As a result I took off jobs in retail, hospitality, and security. I had one of the most relaxed and enjoyable careers but then one of the worst workplaces as well. I came to realize that the people around me weren’t focused on success, getting out of a rut of only doing what’s familiar, or accepting different cultures. So, I had to unfortunately leave and go back to Utah to finish my degree.
After leaving Wyoming around 2014, I’ve still missed it. I’ve come back a few times to see family and check in on the city. As others have mentioned, and as my best friend who moved to Vegas noted, Casper hasn’t really changed for the better. I was shocked to hear about the lack of investment in the mall and how it’s basically empty. To my knowledge the only investment has been in the downtown area, and while it looks cool, I can’t think of anything I’d do down there besides dreaming of owning one of those cool townhomes. Even when I grew up, I can’t really recall any times I stayed downtown besides going to movies. For the most part, I’d drive through it and look at the lights at night, but that’s not really beneficial for the economy.
What’s holding me back now is still the housing and employment situation. I’ve moved to another metro area after graduating from college, and it’s gotten very expensive where I’m at. After being faced with layoffs and rising costs, plus higher taxes and more unfavorable laws each year, I’d love to move back to Wyoming. It’s always on my mind. But, I don’t think I could afford it either. I don’t have enough saved for a down payment, and I feel like there’s limited availability for rentals. Beyond that, while I could possibly work remotely, there doesn’t seem to be many job openings in the fields I’m experienced in. I certainly can’t imagine being someone hitting the job market now as a recent graduate growing up in Wyoming given the wages.
While one may recommend oil, gas, and energy sectors, I think it’s important to touch on the thought that it still feels like our state focuses solely on one or two sectors and doesn’t have a diversified economy. This makes it difficult for folks to return or stay. I couldn’t find well paying work the whole time I was there, and I had IT and teaching experience. The only advice was hit the oil fields, but I couldn’t get anyone to look at my applications. I don’t think it’s smart to rely solely on a few sectors or to advise folk to just go into it as a panacea. Not only may those fields be selective or favor nepotism besides possibly having biases against folk with education, the culture may still be too negative. While my experiences don’t reflect what everyone faces, I had the worst toxic educational and employment experiences in Wyoming. I had several circumstances where I would report incidents to the school or the district and have no action taken even when assaulted by others, and I’ve also had managers threaten and fight employees within my workplace.
While I’m really excited about the possibility of returning and do think I will because I miss it, I don’t miss the negatives. But, I think it’s easy enough to fix. We’ve got a beautiful state with some good policies. I think we just need to continue to reflect on how we can benefit the folk still here and continue to nurture and develop those growing up. Access to affordable housing via increased building and possibly less restrictive zoning like in Texas, as well as an understanding that it’s time to pay a normal minimum wage like Arizona, and further investments in higher education, we can grow Wyoming into a regional powerhouse.
I recently left Wyoming after nearly 40 years because of the sharply increasing intolerance of tolerance – no more “live and let live”, now it’s more “my way or the highway” (I took the highway), nasty side eyes, aggressive drivers who like to “roll coal” from their pickups onto other cars and bicyclists, etc. When we moved to Wyoming, people were friendly, Wyoming was open, free, welcoming, we raised our kids there (they left) and had a great life. Later, Tea Party and Freedom Caucus types took over and vitriole and nastiness starting surfacing at things like parades and school sporting events. Then elections got nasty. It only continued to get worse, less tolerany, finally I said bye bye Wyo (I may never go back, despite the beautiful landscape). BTW, to the point of the article by Ms. Sherwood, Wyoming was talking about the same brain drain 40 years ago, nothing has changed in that regard, and probably has gotten worse.
You cannot start a business or be an entrepreneur in Wyoming, this is what drives our economy – small business. Health insurance costs +40k a year before any benefits. That is a 2300/month premium and a 14k deductible for a young couple. So if you stay you are pushed to work for the government in western WY, federal, state or county so you have benefits. I thought that is what our legislature was trying to downsize
Maybe if we legalize marijuana, more would stay and more people would come here . . .
I wasn’t born here but lived here in my teens and early 20s. I left for the military for 15 years. After coming back it has only taken 2 years for my kids (one of whom is now an adult) to decide this isn’t for us. There’s no REAL future for them here where they could buy a house and raise a family and give their future children a good education. We are all leaving in a couple years. We’re only staying that much longer because I am finishing nursing school. Once im done though, we are going back to where we were happy and there was opportunity and growth, safety and good education just north of Austin Texas. There’s just not a future here. Just driving around Casper, you can see it…boarded up and closed down buildings and businesses everywhere. There are few jobs that pay well enough to actually afford life here. The cost of living is higher here than it was in the posh suburbs of North Austin. But the wages there were higher. Much higher. Its not worth it to stay here anymore. There’s no future here unless you’re already very wealthy. Look how many of our elderly are forced to go to Shepherd which just had a MASSIVE failure of a state inspection including preventable deaths…yes deaths plural. Its still open though because theres nowhere else for those people to go. Everywhere is full or is not a full care facility. So people who need full care get subpar care or have to leave. I will be honest and say I’m counting the days, weeks and months until we get to pack it up and leave this place in the rear view mirror. Hope is dead here. There is no hope. Take a drive around and you’ll see the houses that have been on the market for ages and won’t sell and the businesses that have closed up, the almost completely empty mall, its a depressing place and its a place that just screams its a dying town gasping for its final breaths. Once the elderly and the people who already own their homes pass, I can’t see there being many people left at all. While im not young anymore all the young people I have spoken to say they’re working their tales off to save to move somewhere else. Can we blame them? I can’t because that’s what im doing myself. Saving so my kids and I can leave this place behind for good.
Susan! Beautifully written. Honestly you should submit an Op Ed, I think your words are so powerful and would have a big impact.
1.i personally don’t use pot but for those that do.Not only is law enforcement and judges out to prove that it’s still illegal here but the fines are extreme.i see speeding ticket’s are very high also the law needs to calm down in the big horn basin we have just as many officer shooting people as Las Vegas in a given time period.Then the cops themselves need to go to a public relations workshop.In my opinion every officer hired in Wyoming needs to ( as a requirement) watch 40 straight hours of the Andy Griffith show just to get acclimated to small town Life .It would probably save lives.
Needs to be fun,economically viable and safe.two lane highways need some separation of opposite lanes of traffic and more passing lane areas.to many head ons one of our big concerns about being here
Susan Carr, I could not have said it better myself! I feel Exactly the same about how our state has changed. I loved our “live and let live” state. It is not a pleasant atmosphere anymore for the reasons you listed. I don’t blame you for moving. We have discussed it as well. No wonder our young people and young families leave.
I’ve lived in Wyoming for over 30 years and while no longer considered a “young person” I too am leaving the Cowboy State due to a lot of the items listed above.
I don’t hardly recognize this state anymore. One of the things I loved most about Wyoming was the “Live and let live” culture and philosophy of the people who made this great state home. We voted for the person, not the party. We didn’t want to get involved in what happened behind the closed door of your bedroom or how you chose to pursue healthcare. We didn’t pry into the lives of others, what they read, who they loved or how they lived their lives or presented to the outside world. We just let people be.
And while we mainly just left people alone to live their lives, we were also the first people to make sure our neighbors were okay. The first people to jump in and help during calving and branding seasons, first to buy 4H and FFA market animals, to support our schools, libraries, local businesses, people down on their luck, – we were there for them. We valued our public lands, outdoors, agriculture, energy status, livestock, wildlife and took care of them. Took our role as stewards of the land very seriously.
Today I see an enormous reduction of simple empathy, patience and understanding. I see people bullying others who don’t look like them. I saw a state who rallied around the Matthew Shepard family and were rightly outraged by what happened to a state who now apparently believe it so very important to legislate what bathroom a person can use. A state that wants to restrict what books you can read. A state that took the rights of parents away by making education decisions for them, ironically, in the name of parents rights.
There are many beautiful things still left in this state but the people moving in who don’t understand the Cowboy Way and think they they need to control every little decision for everyone – in the name of freedom – is not one of them. Leaving children, the aging and vulnerable people behind is not Wyoming. Cutting taxes for the wealthy at the expense of services on the ground is not Wyoming. Celebrating cuts to education is not Wyoming. Opening mocking human beings who look different than them is not Wyoming. Owning the Libs is not Wyoming. Controlling cities, municipalities, and county government from the top down is not Wyoming.
I have no desire to move to a “blue state’ but nonetheless I AM moving. I have been a member of the Republican party since my 20s because of its big tent principals. There used to be room for many points of view and a desire to work together to get things done in a way the benefited everyone and not just a few.
The juice just ain’t worth the squeeze here anymore. The state I loved and was always proud to tell people I was from is a shell of its former glory.
Thank you. You have just said it all.
Susan said it all! We are no longer the Equality State in any way.
Ms Carr nailed it! I was not born in Wyo but came here to live when I was two. I grew up in Thermopolis. I moved to Casper to attend school and find work since I was physically incapable of working in the oil field, mining or agriculture. By 1989, when coal, gas, oil, uranium, and ag all were in the dumper, my wife and I decided to leave the state to find work and a future. I loved this state and hated to leave. But we did find jobs, careers, and hope in Denver where we lived for 25 years. When retirement arrived, I could still hear the whisper of Wyoming calling me back home, so we moved back. But Wyoming in not the same and it breaks our hearts. How sad. And I can already hear the “Well, go back to where you came from” snark. Well, this is the place where I came from and it’s not the Wyoming of the Cowboy Way!
Susan – so beautifully said. I hope you will submit this as an op-ed!
I admire the letter, but I get a little cognitive dissonance when someone claims to be “live and let live” but voted Republican since their 20s. To me voting for that party is in direct conflict with that motto as they clearly have wanted for the State to manage a woman’s womb since 1973 and we are seeing the outcome of that vote.
The lack of trust we have in our women citizens to make their own decisions has come from the women who voted Republican.
Nice job Susan on a well written opinion.
Being born and raised here I’ve probably got more claim to being called a Wyomingite then most but recently it’s nothing that I take great pride in. Like you, I’ve been registered as a Republican forever, and still am, but I’m hardly proud of that either. A party that’s been taken over by thugs and goons, masquerading as patriots, isn’t for me. Apparently, a lot of people of all ages sound like they’re waking up to that fact. Unfortunately, the extremist environment is forcing people out of this state at greater numbers than ever before. I’ll be damned if I’ll be run out after spending my entire life here. Somebody has to stick around and vote these criminals out of office.
Spot on, Susan. Thanks for articulating how so many people feel about Wyoming. I love the state… the way it is being run into the ground, not so much.
Really? They have to ask?
Great comment!!! I see the 3 major politicians as being part of the issue too
I agree. We need people to run against them. You, perhaps?