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Quality of Life in Worland, WY
A high quality of life with strong walkability, manageable living costs, healthy neighborhood signals, and solid amenity access.
What does Quality of Life tell us?
Quality of Life blends cost of living, nearby amenities, socioeconomic signals, and neighborhood character. City-level scores represent the whole municipality; individual neighborhoods can differ.
What does this tell us?
Quality of Life blends cost of living, nearby amenities, socioeconomic signals, and neighborhood character. City-level scores represent the whole municipality; individual neighborhoods can differ.
Cost of Living
39% below national average
The Real Cost of Living in Worland, WY for 2026
| Tier | Individual | Family (4) |
|---|---|---|
| Survival | $11k | $21k |
| Comfortable | $34k | $50k |
| Luxury | $88k+ | $136k+ |
| Elite (Top 5%) | $103k+ | $160k+ |
120%
The Area Signal
A metric tracking the socioeconomic signals of the area.
Hobbies
Explore the areaGroceries
0 within 10 miles
Gas
2 within 10 miles
Hospital
1 within 20 miles
Airport
SLC — Salt Lake City International
Post Office
Critical Amenities
Quality-of-Life Analysis
Worland, Wyoming, presents a notably affordable quality of life centered on a stable, middle-income population, with a cost of living index of 61—39% below the U.S. average. The community is predominantly composed of families and long-term residents employed in agriculture, energy, and local government, creating a quiet, self-reliant atmosphere far removed from the pressures of larger metropolitan areas. Median household incomes hover around the state average, but the dramatically lower expenses mean residents enjoy a higher effective standard of living than their nominal earnings might suggest elsewhere.
Cost of living and housing affordability compared to nearby towns
Worland’s housing market is the primary driver of its low cost of living. The median home value sits at $176,300, roughly half the national median and significantly below Wyoming’s statewide average of about $330,000. Renters also benefit, with a median monthly rent of $700—well under half the U.S. median. This affordability extends to utilities and groceries, which also run below national averages. Compared to nearby Thermopolis (30 miles south) or Cody (90 miles west), Worland offers similar or slightly lower home prices, though Cody’s tourist-driven economy pushes its median home value above $400,000. The average one-way commute in Worland is just 18.5 minutes, reflecting the town’s compact layout and minimal traffic congestion, a stark contrast to the 30+ minute commutes common in Wyoming’s larger towns like Rock Springs or Laramie.
Local amenities, schools, and the daily rhythm of life
Daily life in Worland revolves around a handful of core institutions. Washakie County School District #1 serves the area, with Worland High School and South Side Elementary consistently performing near state averages on standardized tests. The town’s amenities include a public library, a municipal golf course, and the Washakie Museum & Cultural Center, which anchors local history programming. For outdoor recreation, residents access the Bighorn National Forest and the Nowood River within a 30-minute drive, offering hiking, fishing, and hunting. The commercial core along Big Horn Avenue contains a grocery store, a hardware store, and a few locally owned restaurants and cafes. Healthcare is provided by Washakie Medical Center, a critical-access hospital with a 24-hour emergency room. The rhythm is slow and predictable: most businesses close by 6 p.m., and weekend social life centers on high school sports, church gatherings, and community events like the annual Worland Days festival in July.
Worland is best suited for individuals and families who prioritize affordability, safety, and a low-stress pace over urban amenities or career variety. Retirees on fixed incomes, remote workers with stable salaries, and young families seeking a first home with a yard will find the housing market uniquely accessible. Those who thrive here value self-sufficiency and community involvement—neighbors know each other, and volunteerism is high. Conversely, professionals seeking nightlife, diverse dining, or rapid career advancement in specialized fields will likely find Worland too limited. For the right resident, however, the combination of a $700 monthly rent, an 18-minute commute, and immediate access to Wyoming’s outdoor landscape creates a quality of life that is both financially sustainable and genuinely peaceful.
Crime in Worland, WY
Lower crime rates than 80% of comparable U.S. locations.
Violent CrimeViolent Crime Analysis
Property CrimeProperty Crime Analysis
Crime Analysis
Worland, Wyoming, presents a mixed safety profile for prospective residents. The town’s violent crime rate of 251.9 per 100,000 residents is slightly below the national average, while its property crime rate of 902.6 per 100,000 is notably higher than both state and national benchmarks. This combination means that while serious violent incidents are relatively uncommon, property-related offenses like theft and burglary are a more frequent concern for those living in or moving to this Big Horn Basin community.
Crime in context
Worland’s violent crime rate of 251.9 per 100,000 is roughly 30% lower than the U.S. average of about 380 per 100,000, placing it in a safer tier for personal safety compared to many communities nationwide. However, the property crime rate of 902.6 per 100,000 is significantly elevated—approximately 40% higher than the national average of roughly 650 per 100,000 and well above Wyoming’s statewide property crime rate. This disparity is typical of smaller rural towns that serve as regional hubs, where a concentrated population and limited law enforcement resources can make property crimes more common. It is important to note that Worland’s justice system operates under Wyoming’s generally conservative legal framework, which tends to prioritize public safety and victim rights over progressive offender-focused policies. This stands in contrast to many large metro areas where liberal district attorneys and progressive judges may contribute to higher recidivism and reduced accountability, a dynamic that should give readers pause when considering relocation to such jurisdictions.
What residents experience
For daily life in Worland, the elevated property crime rate is the most tangible safety issue. Residents commonly report incidents of vehicle break-ins, theft from yards or outbuildings, and occasional burglaries of unoccupied homes. Violent crime, by contrast, is rare and typically involves individuals who know each other, rather than random attacks on strangers. The Worland Police Department and Washakie County Sheriff’s Office maintain a visible presence, and community watch programs are active in several neighborhoods. Because the local criminal justice system does not embrace the progressive ideologies that can lead to lenient sentencing and early release in larger cities, residents generally feel that offenders who are caught face meaningful consequences, which helps maintain a sense of order and deterrence.
Neighborhood-level variation
Safety in Worland is not uniform across the town. The newer subdivisions on the south and west sides, particularly near the Worland Golf Club and along South 15th Street, tend to have lower property crime rates due to higher home values and more vigilant neighbors. Older, more densely built areas near the downtown core and along the Bighorn River corridor see a higher concentration of property offenses. The area immediately surrounding the Washakie County Fairgrounds and the industrial zone near U.S. Highway 20 can experience occasional transient-related issues. Prospective residents are advised to drive through potential neighborhoods at different times of day and speak with local law enforcement about block-specific crime data before committing to a rental or purchase.
* Values derived from national, state, county, city and local statistics and may differ in a specific area. Last updated: 2026-04-21T11:31:26.000Z
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