Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,170, settled in 1894. Public schools that outperform most of Wyoming.
Trash day: look up yoursThe best of Ranchester’s subject grades are an A− for schools and health; the weakest is a D for hazard risk. 5.4% of working residents work locally in Ranchester, where Wyoming’s towns sit at 50% and U.S. towns at 8%. On hazard risk, just 1 of Wyoming’s 58 towns do worse. The median household income is $69K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. On civic life, just 3 of Wyoming’s 42 towns do worse. ECR Kooi Bridge and Connor Battlefield is on the National Register of Historic Places. Ranchester has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Ranchester beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wyoming), ordered by how far Ranchester is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1941.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ranchester, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Ranchester.
Ranchester’s FEMA risk score is 90 of 100, against 39 of 100 in Wyoming’s towns and 44 of 100 across U.S. towns. Since 1978, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ranchester.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Sheridan County School District #1. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tongue River ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 255 | A− |
| Tongue River Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 152 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WY on state tests and graduation
Ranchester beats the Wyoming average on 8 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 69% of Ranchester adults had a checkup this year. Only 1 of the 29 Wyoming towns we compare have a lower share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Ranchester.
| Ranchester | Wyoming towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 68% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 26% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Ranchester | WY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.1% | 12.8% |
| Fewer adults who get no exercise | 20.8% | 25.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
32% of residents are under 18 in Ranchester. Ranchester has grown 10% since 2020, to 1,170 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 12% of residents are 65 or older in Ranchester.
| Ranchester | Wyoming towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 32% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 36.2 years | 37.3 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 24% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.8 points. Across Wyoming, 48.9% of residents are women.
| Ranchester | WY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.4% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 18.6% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.8% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.5% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.4% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.8% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11% | 12.7% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.2% | 11.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.3% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4% | 5.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.2% | 27.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.3% | 24.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.7% | 11.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.1% | 19.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.7% | 11.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,200, single groups can be off by several points
Ranchester has cold, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. The July high in Ranchester is 88°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Ranchester for work: only 5% work in town. Ranchester’s average trip to work is 23 minutes. Since 2013, Ranchester has lost 56 jobs, to 324 in 2023.
| Ranchester | Wyoming towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 15 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Ranchester home is worth about $410,000, down 1.9% in a year, 11% above the Wyoming typical home. Among 29 Wyoming towns, just 2 have a higher share of households owning their home than Ranchester.
| Ranchester | Wyoming towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 83% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $763 a month | $927 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Connor Battlefield State Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ranchester
About 4 of every 100 Ranchester residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wyoming.
Town in Wyoming, United States
Ranchester is a town in Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,064 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Public schools that outperform most of Wyoming.
That is 5.7 years of the area's median household income ($71,388 across the Sheridan, WY area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.