Sheridan County Growth Rate One of the Highest in Wyoming

While appearing on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse, County Planner Mark Reid said Sheridan is holding as one of the fastest growing counties in the Cowboy State. 

Reid said the building permits for the county have jumped to numbers not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

M. Reid

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated Sheridan County’s population in April of 2020 at 30,923 and in 2025 that number was 33,241. Sheridan County’s growth rate is 7.5%, making it one of the fastest growing counties in Wyoming. 

According to a report from the US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, many families relocating to smaller rural communities throughout the United States are doing so in search of a higher quality of life, smaller hometown environments for their children and outdoor recreation availability. The ERS addresses this as “amenity migration”. 

According to the 2023 report, Net Migration Spurs Renewed Growth in Rural Areas of the United States, based on previous research, this increase in amenity migration is believed to be spurred by the baby boomer generation’s retirement reaching its peak and the availability of remote work, allowing more locational freedom for working-age adults and their families.

According to the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division, since the April 1, 2020 Census, Wyoming’s population has increased by 11,881 or 2.1%, which is slower than the U.S. rate of 3.1%. Crook (9.3%), Lincoln (8.2%), and Sheridan (7.5%) counties demonstrated faster growth, while Laramie and Sheridan counties have added the most residents, over 2,300 each.