State bird
Western meadowlark
Sources: Designation & background
Local timeCheyenne ·
U.S. States / West · Card 051
Wyoming
The Equality State
Yellowstone’s geysers and hot springs are heated by a volcanic system beneath the surface.
Wyoming and its surroundings
● State capital · Gold highlights Wyoming.
Map: Natural Earth. Neighboring states use postal abbreviations.
Map: Natural Earth. Neighboring states use postal abbreviations.
At a glance
- Capital
- Cheyenne
- Postal abbreviation
- WY
- Population
- 588,753July 1, 2025 · Census estimate
- Total area
- 253,335 km²97,813 square miles · land and water
- Statehood
- July 10, 1890State number 44
- Region
- West
Sources: Census · population · Census · area
State symbols & traditions
State songs
Wyoming; Wyoming Where I Belong
Sources: Designation & background
Geography & flag
01
Location
Neighboring states: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah.
02
Landscape & places
Yellowstone’s geysers and hot springs are heated by a volcanic system beneath the surface. Most of the park lies in Wyoming, with smaller portions in Montana and Idaho. Forests and wildlife habitats extend beyond its famous thermal features.
03
Land and water
The total area includes 251,470 km² of land and 1,864 km² of water, according to Census area measurements.
State flag
A white bison containing the state seal on blue, with white and red borders.
Sources: Census · geographic reference · Census · area measurements · National Park Service · Yellowstone
How the landscape works
Yellowstone’s geysers and hot springs reveal heat beneath the surface. They are different expressions of a geothermal system, not isolated sources of warmth unrelated to geology. Most of the park lies in Wyoming, but parts extend into Montana and Idaho. A park boundary, a state boundary, and the reach of a natural system need not coincide.
History
Why Wyoming is associated with women’s suffrage
Wyoming’s territorial legislature granted women voting rights in 1869, decades before the Nineteenth Amendment. The measure changed women’s legal participation in elections while Wyoming was still a territory, not yet a state.
When Wyoming entered the Union in 1890, it retained women’s suffrage in its constitution. This history explains the nickname “Equality State.” The distinction concerns voting rights by sex; it should not be read as a claim that every resident enjoyed equal rights or faced no other legal barriers. Territorial organization, women’s suffrage and statehood occurred at different times.
Read more: Historical source ↗
Why this mattered
Wyoming Territory granted women voting rights in 1869, before it became a state in 1890. The sequence distinguishes territorial law from admission to the Union. This was a major expansion of political participation, but a suffrage milestone should not be taken to mean that all forms of exclusion had ended for every resident.
Key dates
-
Wyoming Territory organized
-
Statehood · State number 44
Sources: Congressional Research Service · statehood · U.S. Census Bureau · historical geography · National Park Service
People and place
Indigenous history and communities today
The Eastern Shoshone Tribe provides a present-day perspective from the Wind River region. Wyoming’s suffrage milestone does not by itself describe the rights, experiences, or institutions of every community in the state.
Continue with Eastern Shoshone Tribe. This is one starting point, not a complete account of the peoples connected to this land.
Compare
Wyoming and Colorado
| Measure | Wyoming | Colorado |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2025) | 588,753 | 6,012,561 |
| Land area (km²) | 251,470 | 268,431 |
| People per km² of land | 2.3 | 22.4 |
Colorado has more people per square kilometer of land. Population density divides population by land area. It is an average across the whole jurisdiction, not a claim that residents are evenly spread out.
Calculated from the Census population series and land-area measurements used on these pages. Rounded figures; water area is excluded. Explore Colorado.
Economy
Main activities
In 2025, government and government enterprises was the largest of the broad industry groups compared here by current-dollar output. Other major groups included real estate and rental and leasing, mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, and transportation and warehousing.
Total economic output was $52.6 billion in current dollars in 2025.
Largest industry groups · 2025
- Government and government enterprises: 15.7%
- Real estate and rental and leasing: 12.5%
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction: 11.5%
- Transportation and warehousing: 8.0%
Share of total current-dollar GDP. These figures measure output, not employment.
Sources: BEA · annual GDP by state, SAGDP2
Production, jobs and wages answer different questions
The industry chart measures the value of production. It does not count workers. An industry with a large share of GDP need not employ the most people or pay the highest wages. Employment and wage data would be needed to answer those questions.
Population & economic trends
Population, 2020–2025
Thousands of people588.752025 · thousands of people
July 1 resident population estimates, using the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 series.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau
View data table
| Year | People |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 577,669 |
| 2021 | 579,662 |
| 2022 | 581,742 |
| 2023 | 584,666 |
| 2024 | 586,722 |
| 2025 | 588,753 |
Real GDP, 2010–2025
Billions of chained 2017 dollars39.992025 · billions of chained 2017 dollars
Real GDP measures economic output adjusted for inflation. The chart uses BEA’s chained 2017 dollars.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
View data table
| Year | Millions of chained 2017 dollars |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 39,135.8 |
| 2011 | 38,929.8 |
| 2012 | 38,085.0 |
| 2013 | 38,408.7 |
| 2014 | 39,287.2 |
| 2015 | 40,063.9 |
| 2016 | 37,853.5 |
| 2017 | 37,620.3 |
| 2018 | 37,977.2 |
| 2019 | 38,577.1 |
| 2020 | 36,463.5 |
| 2021 | 37,182.6 |
| 2022 | 37,690.6 |
| 2023 | 39,843.2 |
| 2024 | 39,780.7 |
| 2025 | 39,990.5 |
Read the trend, then ask what explains it
Wyoming’s population increased by about 1.9% between 2020 and 2025 in this series. That shows the size of the change. The chart alone cannot tell us how much came from births, deaths or migration.
Real GDP adjusts for changes in prices, so it helps compare production over time. Current-dollar GDP includes price changes. Neither measure tells us how income is distributed among residents.
Representation
- Electoral votes
- 32024 & 2028 elections
- Voting U.S. House seats
- 12020 Census allocation
- U.S. Senate seats
- 2
Electoral votes equal the state’s U.S. House seats plus its two U.S. Senate seats. These allocations apply to the 2024 and 2028 presidential elections. The state elects one U.S. representative at large, serving the whole state.
Practice
Test your knowledge
Use the explanations and data on this page to answer ten questions. Hints and links to the relevant sections are available throughout.
10 questions about Wyoming
Show a hint
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Sources & notes
Narrative and quiz updated 5 October 2026. Statistical data prepared 27 September 2026. Population: Census Bureau Vintage 2025, July 1 estimates for 2020–2025. Real GDP: BEA annual state accounts, SAGDP9, millions of chained 2017 dollars; industry shares: SAGDP2, current dollars. Data downloaded 27 September 2026. Area measurements include land and water.
Sources: Census · population estimates · BEA · state GDP · Census · area measurements · Natural Earth · map data
The capital clock shows current local time. Statistical figures are dated estimates and may be revised.
Updated 29 October 2026. Statistics retain the dated series shown in the charts; these are not live figures. Sources are linked beside each topic.