Weston County

Weston County sits at a median home price of $252,122, making it one of the more affordable entry points in Wyoming, and its affordability index of 76 reflects that relative accessibility. Home prices declined 1.23% year-over-year, a modest softening that may create room for negotiation but also signals a market without meaningful price momentum. The investment estimate fields for cap rate, cash flow, and cash-on-cash return are not populated in the available data, which means precise yield calculations cannot be confirmed here. What the data does show is a market scoring zero on the cash-flow dimension and 44 on appreciation, placing Weston firmly in the lower half of the spectrum on both axes. With an overall score of 55 out of 100 and a national percentile rank of 36, this is not a market where the numbers are working hard for you, and investors should approach it with clear-eyed expectations about what the county can actually deliver.

The buyer profile this market might attract is narrow. A zero cash-flow score rules out Weston for anyone underwriting a rent-yield-first strategy. The appreciation score of 44 is below average, and the 1.23% price decline over the past year does nothing to support a thesis built on equity growth. A value-add operator looking for distressed assets at low entry prices might find the $252,122 median useful as a ceiling on acquisition cost, but the county's population of 6,870 creates a thin rental pool, which constrains the ability to re-lease quickly if a unit turns. Stability scores at 50, exactly at the midpoint, suggesting neither the kind of institutional demand that anchors occupancy nor the volatility that creates opportunistic buys. In short, Weston is not a natural fit for any of the three standard investor profiles without a very specific local angle.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Weston County, so no claims about job drivers or employment concentration can be made here. What the population figure of 6,870 does communicate on its own is that this is a small, rural Wyoming market. Small markets carry inherent concentration risk: demand for rentals is thin, tenant replacement timelines can stretch, and any single employer contraction or outmigration trend has an outsized effect on vacancy. Investors accustomed to markets with diversified employment bases or institutional renter demand should treat this population size as a structural constraint, not just a data point.

On carry costs, Weston is actually a tailwind story at the tax level. Wyoming's state-average effective property tax rate of 0.61% is low, and at that rate on a $252,122 purchase the annual tax burden comes to roughly $1,538. Combined with an estimated $605 in annual insurance, the total tax-and-insurance drag is approximately $179 per month. That is a meaningful reduction in fixed carry compared to higher-tax states and markets, and it partially offsets the uncertainty around gross rent yield. The caveat worth keeping in mind is that 0.61% is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data; actual county and township assessments in Weston may differ from that figure, so pulling the specific mill levy before closing is a necessary step in any serious underwrite.

The concentrated risk in a market this size is the single biggest consideration. With fewer than 7,000 residents, the rental market is not deep enough to absorb a significant supply addition or a demand shock without vacancy moving materially. No vacancy or crime data are available here, so no specific figures can be cited, but investors should conduct direct fieldwork: how many active rental listings exist, how long units sit, and what the realistic universe of qualified tenants looks like. Regulatory risk specific to Weston County is also not captured in the provided data. Wyoming as a state is generally landlord-friendly, but local ordinances can vary and should be verified directly.

Compared to its neighbors, Weston's primary advantage is price. At $252,122, it is meaningfully cheaper than Laramie County ($376,645), Natrona County ($303,500), Johnson County ($400,513), and Crook County ($405,497). Among the neighbors with rent data, Natrona County shows a gross rent-to-price ratio of 5.0%, and Laramie County sits at 4.4%, both of which represent more complete yield pictures than Weston currently offers. Natrona and Crook County both score 58 and 60 overall, respectively, outpacing Weston's 55. The case for choosing Weston over a neighbor would rest almost entirely on acquisition price and the tax advantage, not on yield metrics or market depth. If an investor has identified a specific off-market deal or a property with genuine value-add upside that brings the effective purchase cost well below the median, the low carry environment makes the math more workable. Otherwise, the neighboring counties with verified rent data and stronger overall scores represent more defensible underwriting positions for a buy-and-hold strategy.