The Rural Turnaround in Wyoming: Implications for Community Development

Abstract

From 1970 to 1980 Wyoming experienced a population increase of more than 40 percent. Most of the increase is attributed to migration. By 1980 three of every 10 residents were migrants. Most migrants settled in nonmetropolitan areas. (Wyoming had no metropolitan area in 1970, only one by 1980 and two by 1984). Growth from 1980 to 1986 slowed to an increase of 8.0 percent, but nonmetropolitan areas still were experiencing a higher rate of growth than metropolitan areas. Examination of the industrial sectors within Wyoming's economy revealed that the number of jobs in the state increased substantially during the 1970–1980 decade; growth occurred disproportionately in construction and mining, reflecting the development of the state's vast natural resources of coal, gas and oil. Although the population boom of the 1970s was tied closely to energy extraction, results are inconclusive regarding a possible “bust” during the 1980s as natural resource development declined. Wyoming's employment distribution changed dramatically from 1980 to 1986 with substantial declines in construction and mining, and increases occurring in the retail, finance, service and government sectors. As this structural change occurred, total employment declined by 1.8 percent. It is concluded that state and local governments need to be involved more actively in fostering economic development than they traditionally have been in Wyoming. The refinement of migration models, particularly incorporation of sociopsychological information such as residential preference data, is needed in order to provide a sound basis for the development of both short and long-term government policies aimed at helping nonmetropolitan counties adjust to rapid population shifts.