Wyoming’s current budget

Governor Mark Gordon released his FY 2025-2026 supplemental biennial budget proposal in November 2024 and gave the state of state address in January 2025.

Wyoming enacted its FY 2025-2026 biennial budget in March 2024. The budget reported $3.4 billion in general fund spending and $10.9 in total fund spending over the two-year period. In 2025, Wyoming passed a significant cut to its property taxes.

Under the American Rescue Plan, Wyoming received $1.1 billion in direct state fiscal aid and $134 million in local government aid from the federal government. As of January 2025, Wyoming had allocated over 75 percent of its state ARP. States must spend the funds by Dec. 31, 2026.

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), Wyoming’s total expenditures in fiscal year FY 2025 were $5.4 billion, including general funds, other state funds, bonds, and federal funds. NASBO reported that total expenditures across all states in FY 2025 were $2.9 trillion, ranging from $5.4 billion in Wyoming to $413.8 billion in California.

According to NASBO, Wyoming’s recent expenditure totals (general fund spending/total spending, including federal transfers) were:

• FY 2025: $1.7 billion/$5.6 billion
• FY 2024: $1.7 billion/$5.6 billion
• FY 2023: $1.5 billion/$5.4 billion
• FY 2022: $1.5 billion/$4.7 billion
• FY 2021: $1.2 billion/$5.6 billion
• FY 2020: $1.3 billion/$4.5 billion
• FY 2019: $1.5 billion/$4.7 billion

For more on Wyoming’s budget, see

• Wyoming Administration & Information, and
  
• the Wyoming State Auditor’s Office.

Wyoming’s budget institutions, rules, and constraints

Wyoming uses a biennial budget. Wyoming uses one of the least strict processes in implementing its budget. There are no balanced budget requirements, no tax or expenditure limits, and no limits on authorized debt and debt service.

(Note: Some states have informal budget institutions that constrain overall spending growth or a specific expenditure’s growth.)

Overview of Wyoming’s state and local expenditure and revenue sources

Each state allocates spending and taxes differently among different levels of governments, and local governments often administer programs with state funds, so combined state and local government data show a more complete picture of individual benefits and contributions when comparing states.

Per the US Census Bureau, Wyoming’s combined state and local direct general expenditures were $9.7 billion in FY 2022 (the most recent year census data were available), or $16,743 per capita. (Census data exclude “business-like” activities such as utilities and transfers between state and local governments.) National per capita direct general expenditures were $12,083.

Wyoming’s largest spending areas per capita were health and hospitals ($3,588) and elementary and secondary education ($3,203). The Census Bureau includes most Medicaid spending in public welfare but also allocates some of it to public hospitals. Per capita spending is useful for state comparisons but is an incomplete metric because it doesn’t provide any information about a state’s demographics, policy decisions, administrative procedures, or residents’ choices.

Wyoming’s combined state and local general revenues were $11.0 billion in FY 2022, or $18,859 per capita. National per capita general revenues were $13,619. Wyoming does not levy a corporate income tax or individual income tax. After federal transfers, Wyoming’s largest sources of per capita revenue were charges ($3,766), such as state university tuition and highway tolls, and property taxes ($2,149). Wyoming also collects a relatively large amount of revenue from severance taxes, which are taxes on the extraction of natural resources such as oil and natural gas. Wyoming’s per capita severance tax revenue was $1,325 in 2022. Severance tax revenue is extremely volatile and can quickly rise and fall with the price and production of natural resources.

Wyoming’s economic trends

Wyoming’s per capita income (per the Bureau of Economic Analysis) was $85,945 in 2024, ranking third among the states. It was above both the national average of $72,425 and the Rocky Mountain regional average of $70,311. The state’s median household income (five-year estimate) was $76,176 in 2024, ranking 29th among the states and below the national average of $80,734. Wyoming’s poverty rate was 10.5 percent in 2024 (five-year estimate), below the national rate of 12.5 percent.

Although Wyoming’s averages tell a story about the entire state, Wyoming is composed of diverse localities. For example, the city of Laramie’s median household income was $55,613, and its poverty rate was 22.5 percent; the city of Gillette’s median household income was $81,316, and its poverty rate was 9.8 percent.

Wyoming’s unemployment rate has historically been below the national average, particularly following the Great Recession. In recent years, however, the state’s rate has more closely paralleled the US rate.

Unemployment rates (like other economic indicators) often vary significantly by race and ethnicity. In Wyoming, the average unemployment rate in 2024 was 2.9 percent for white residents and 4.6 percent for Hispanic or Latino residents.

The major industries that contributed the most to Wyoming’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 were finance, government, mining, transportation, and professional services. Government, mining, and transportation contributed more to Wyoming’s GDP than they did to the nation’s and region’s GDP, while finance and professional services were less important to Wyoming than they were to the nation and region in 2024.

Looking at more specific industries, among those that accounted for at least 1 percent of Wyoming’s GDP in 2023, mining produced far more for the state than for the nation, contributing 8.6 percent to Wyoming’s GDP and 0.3 percent to the nation’s. Other industries that overperformed in Wyoming relative to national averages in 2023 were oil and gas extraction, petroleum and coal manufacturing, state and local government, and rail transportation.

Wyoming’s politics

Governor Mark Gordon, a Republican, was elected in 2022 with 76 percent of the vote. The next gubernatorial election is in 2026.

Republicans control both the House of Representatives (57 Republicans to 5 Democrats) and Senate (29 Republicans to 2 Democrats), with veto-proof majorities in both houses. Control of the governor’s mansion and each house of the legislature gives Republicans a trifecta in Wyoming. All Wyoming House seats are on the ballot in 2026 because representatives serve two-year terms. Senators serve four-year terms; roughly half the senatorial seats are on the ballot in 2026, and the other half will be up for election in 2028.

Wyoming’s demographics

As of July 2024, Wyoming’s population was 587,618. That was up 4.1 percent from 2010. The state’s population growth rate was slower than than the nation’s 9.9 percent growth over the same period. The Urban Institute estimates the state’s population will increase 26.9 percent between 2010 and 2030, more than the nation’s estimated growth rate of 16 percent.

Additional resources

• The State and Local Finance Initiative’s Backgrounders explain the tax and spending issues highlighted in these briefs.
  
• The State Economic Monitor presents updated data and customized visualizations of state economic indicators.
  
• State and Local Finance Data: Exploring the Census of Governments allow users to sort, customize, and download the Census of Governments State and Local Finance series data featured in these summaries.
  
• The State Tax and Economic Review series provides quarterly reports on state tax collections and underlying economic trends in all 50 states.
  
• The Urban Institute’s State Tax Data Subscriptions provide access to up-to-date revenue data in all 50 states.