Energy industries draw workers to rural Wyoming, spur state's population to all-time high

An "abundance of jobs" in Wyoming, especially in the energy industries of coal mining and natural gas drilling, "is driving up the state population, including some rural areas not normally associated with growth," reports Jared Miller of the Casper Star-Tribune.

Miller reports that the state's population reached an all-time high of 522,830, up by more than 10,000 people or 2 percent between 2006 and 2007. It was the ninth-largest growth rate in the country, but Wyoming is still the nation's least-populated state.

The state's energy centers saw the most growth, especially the coal country of Campbell County in northeast Wyoming. “People of working age are coming here and bringing their families and starting families,” Amy Bittner, economist with the state Economic Analysis Division, told Miller.“That was a component of the population change that we hadn't seen in Wyoming for a while now.” (Read more)