So you're thinking of moving to Wyoming? Well, Wyoming is a rather large state. So exactly what area of Wyoming should you move to? Hi, I'm Alicia Collins with Remax, the group, and the Alicia Collins Real Estate Team. If you have watched any of my other videos, you may have noticed I'm a bit partial to Casper. But I'll admit, Casper isn't the only city in Wyoming to consider. Let's compare Casper versus Cheyenne. That's a lot of you have asked me to do. Let's start with some statistics. How about population? Cheyenne has a slightly larger population, just over 64,000 inhabitants, to Casper's 58,000. These are Wyoming's two largest cities after all. Which one is larger by area? Well, that one might surprise you. The data I found shows that at 24.63 square miles, the city of Cheyenne is slightly smaller than the city of Casper, which is 27.24 square miles. Now, if you include the surrounding areas, I'm not sure which one is larger. Casper has nearby cities of Bar none, Evansville and Mills. That many include when talking about the Casper area. Location, location, location. Cheyenne is located very near the Colorado border, which allows easy access to all that a larger, more heavily populated state has to offer. Cheyenne sits on high plains terrain in the south eastern corner of the state. Casper, on the other hand, sits a little closer to the center of the state, not center exactly, but close enough to be able to get just about anywhere in the state within a few hours. Casper sits at the base of Casper Mountain, with the North Platte River running a right through town. I will let you decide whether close to Colorado or centrally located is more appealing to you. What about median household income? Well, depending on what sources you check, Casper's median household income is right around 60,000 a year. Cheyenne's median household income is slightly higher and somewhere between 64 and 68,000 again, depending on the source. So I guess Cheyenne wins on that one at face value. And what about the average home price? The median home price in Casper is 286,000, with an average price per square foot of 145. Cheyenne's median home price is 379,000, with an average square foot cost of 174. Okay, so the household income is a little lower, but the cost of a home is almost $100,000 lower. So mark that win in the Casper column. According to bestplaces.net, the cost of living in Casper is lower than the cost of living in Cheyenne by 4%. With the housing cost difference, you would think that the overall cost of living would be quite a lot lower. But bestplaces.net includes things like the cost of healthcare and groceries in their calculation. So it's balanced out a bit as those things cost a little more in Casper than in Cheyenne. Since both cities are in Wyoming, they both have great state income tax. None. So I guess tax wise, we could compare sales tax, both are relatively low. Cheyenne is currently sitting at 6% compared to Casper's 5%. One percent difference doesn't seem like that large, but it can add up on those large purchases. Climbing in weather are fairly similar in both Cheyenne and Casper. But due to the differences in terrain, there are a few things that are not the same. Cheyenne tends to get a little more rain than Casper. Cheyenne gets around to 16.5 inches per year compared to Casper's 13 inches. Casper gets more snows though. Averaging 70.3 inches per year compared to Cheyenne's 58.3. When it comes to Wyoming, I am sure you've heard about the wind situation. If you haven't checked out my video on Wyoming wind to learn more. If you were to ask residents of Casper in Cheyenne, which is windier, it would probably start an argument because everyone thinks their city wins this one. The truth is, the average is pretty dang close with Cheyenne averaging 12.4 miles per hour compared to a 12 mile average for Casper. Today, we won't even talk about wind gusts, but both cities have some real doozies on record. Weatherspark.com has a neat comparison tool where you can see how the different weather stats stack up on the same chart. It looks like Cheyenne tends to have a bit more moderate temperatures than Casper. Casper's average temperatures range throughout the year from 17 to 88 degrees and Cheyenne ranges from 19 to 83. What about the political climate? I am sure it comes to no surprise that Wyoming tends to have a reputation of being pretty conservative and both Casper and Cheyenne follow that trend as well. Current voter registration shows that Casper is presently even more conservative than Cheyenne. Casper, a rather nutrana county, has around 72.5% of total voters registered as Republicans compared to Laramie County where Cheyenne is located, with 64%. In both counties, there are a number of unregistered voters and a very small number of voters registered for alternate parties. The percentage of voters registered as Democrats in Laramie County is just under 20%, which is higher than nutrana counties 13%. Cheyenne is the capital of Wyoming and a lot of our state offices are housed there. I am not sure whether that or the proximity of Colorado is what affects the slight variation in the percentage of registered Republican voters. How does Cheyenne compare to Casper for access to the great outdoors? Well, I might be a bit biased on this one, but I think Casper wins for sure. Since we are at right at the base of Casper Mountain, hiking, skiing, mountain biking, and camping are all within 15 minutes of town. Plus, the river running right through the city, kayaking, fishing, and floating are all minutes from home. Cheyenne offers many of the same amenities, just a little further away. Snowy range ski area is about an hour from the city and Kurt Gowdy State Park is 32 miles from the city and offers all the hiking, biking, and camping you could want. Casper has three reservoirs within an hour of the city where it takes an hour and a half to get from Cheyenne to Glender Reservoir. So again, both cities have a lot of similar outdoor adventures available. So it just takes a little more time to get to them from Cheyenne versus Casper. How about the vibe of each city? Well, that one is a bit harder for me to be unbiased as I do live and work in Casper. My impression of Cheyenne is that it's still friendly like the rest of Wyoming, but has a little bit more of a big city feel than Casper. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Not only does Cheyenne feel more like a big city, but its proximity to Fort Con's in Denver allows easier access to all that the large cities have to offer. I would say that Casper has a more small town feel to it, but we still have great amenities like a larger city. So there you have it. Casper versus Cheyenne. I will leave it up to you to decide which is the right city for you. Of course, if it's Casper, give me a call. I am sure my team and I can help you find the home of your dreams. We'd love talking to you so reach out to us. Thank you for your comments and thank you for watching. Remember, we want you to love where you live. See you soon.