Select Year 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2016 Property Tax Visualization Tool

Property Tax Reliance

Although Wyoming ranked in the top ten states for property tax per capita in 2023, the state’s effective tax rate on a median value owner-occupied home was ranked well below the national average, with only 12 states and the District of Columbia below Wyoming. Residential real estate accounted for only 32 percent of the tax base in 2024 (Wyoming Taxpayers Association 2024a, 4). See Selected Property Tax Statistics

Administration and Assessment

Property taxes are levied by the state, counties, cities and towns, and special districts.

County assessors in the state’s 23 counties assess residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural real and personal property and the state Department of Revenue assesses mineral production; pipeline companies, telecommunications, and other utilities; and airline, railroad, and rail car companies (Wyoming Property Tax Division). Assessors update values annually, with physical reinspection at least every six years.

Wyoming applies different assessment ratios to three classes of property: 100 percent of market value for minerals and mine products; 11.5 percent of value for industrial property; and 9.5 percent of value for all other real and personal property, including residential. See Property Tax Features

The state taxes tangible personal property of businesses, except inventories, but the first $75,000 of business property owned by a person is exempt beginning in 2026 (Enrolled Act No. 19 of 2025).

Limits on Property Taxation

Wyoming’s property tax rate cap limits state, county, city, and school property tax rates. The cap ranges from 4 mills for state general fund property taxes to 25 mills for local school property taxes. As noted above, the assessment ratios used to calculate taxes can cause these rates to be applied to fractional assessments, as low as 9.5 percent of value for residential property.

Wyoming enacted legislation in 2024 that, for the first time, effectively imposes a cap on the growth of assessed values of residential property by exempting property taxes on assessed value increases that exceed 4 percent of the prior year (House Bill 0045 of 2024).

Property Tax Relief and Incentives

Wyoming’s Property Tax Refund Program for low income homeowners provides property tax rebates to homeowners who have lived in the state for at least five years; whose incomes do not exceed 145 percent of the median gross household income in their county of residence or the state, whichever is greater (statewide median income was $75,780 in 2024); and whose assets do not exceed an annually adjusted limit ($163,019 per person in 2025) (Significant Features of the Property Tax; Wyoming Department of Revenue). When the legislature funds the program, qualifying applicants receive a refund of up to half of their taxes paid in the previous year. The program went unfunded in tax year 2020 (Arnold 2021) but the legislature resumed its funding beginning in 2022 (Wyoming Property Tax Division).

Wyoming enacted a parallel county option program in 2022. Benefits and eligibility criteria for the County Optional Property Tax Refund Program are almost identical to those of the state-funded program, but instead of the state legislature funding the program, counties are responsible for funding (Wyoming Act 26 of 2022).

In 2024, Wyoming established a 50 percent homestead exemption for homeowners aged 65 and older who have paid property taxes in Wyoming for 25 years or more, with a sunset date of July 1, 2027 (House Bill 0003). In 2025, the state created a new statewide homeowner property tax exemption giving all qualifying homeowners a 25 percent reduction on the first $1 million of a single-family home's fair market value, without a sunset date (Senate File 0069). Wyoming also authorizes a local option property tax deferral program, and offers a homestead exemption to combat veterans and their surviving spouses.

Wyoming’s only property tax incentive for economic development is tax increment financing (TIF).

Key Property Tax History

Wyoming relied heavily on property taxation from its beginning as a territory. Early efforts to diversify tax sources were unsuccessful; but in 1935, a state sales tax was enacted with local options for cities and counties, and in 1969, the state legislature authorized a severance tax on minerals. Both of those sources reduced reliance on property taxation. Wyoming remains one of the few states not imposing a personal income tax (Roberts 2004).

In Washakie County School District v. Herschler (1980), the Wyoming Supreme Court first ruled the state’s education finance system unconstitutional on equity grounds, noting disparities between funding in property-wealthy and property-poor communities. Fifteen years later, in 1995, the court again found the system in violation of the state’s constitution in Campbell County School District v. State (Campbell I), both on equity and adequacy grounds. In this decision, the court ordered the legislature to determine the cost of a quality education and to fund it, based on parameters spelled out by the court (SchoolFunding.Info).

The legislature reformed its school finance system in response to the ruling. The state’s foundation program sets a guaranteed funding level for each school district according to a formula that accounts for student enrollment, special education costs, and other factors. Revenue from local resources, most importantly a mandated 25-mill school district property tax and a 6-mill county property tax, are applied toward each district’s guarantee. Districts with local resources below the foundation guarantee receive state aid to make up the difference; some state aid comes from the 12-mill statewide property tax. The state recaptures and redistributes local resources that exceed a school district’s

In 2001, the Wyoming Supreme Court handed down a decision known as Campbell II, which found the state’s education finance system “appropriate for the times.” The court also found the system met some of its guidelines, such as those related to class sizes and teacher salaries, but ordered the legislature to reexamine certain aspects of the system, most notably capital funding, and advised regular review of cost-based factors and inflation adjustments. In 2008, the court relinquished its jurisdiction in the case, finding the state in full compliance with its constitutional obligations (SchoolFunding.Info).

Recent Developments

In August 2022, the Wyoming Education Association filed a lawsuit (Wyoming Education Association v. State of Wyoming) against the state for failing to adequately fund education. A Laramie County district court judge denied the state’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit in early 2023, allowing the case to proceed to trial. The plaintiff claimed funding does not accurately reflect the costs of education and that the legislature has not consistently adjusted its foundation formula for inflation (Education Law Center 2023). The trial was held in June 2024, and the judge’s decision is pending. During the trial, school educators testified to witnessing the negative consequences the lack of funding has had on students, including mental health issues; on building renovations; and on hiring quality staff. The state argued in a pre-trial memo that the schools were given more funds than they could use in previous years and the surplus funds made the cost adjustments unnecessary. The state further claimed that Wyoming’s per-pupil spending is extremely high, and funding related to school safety and students’ mental health is not a resource guaranteed by state law (Monaghan 2024).

The legislature enacted a new county option property tax rebate effective for 2022 that mimics a state-backed rebate program that was unfunded in tax year 2020 (Arnold 2021). Under the program, counties can opt to fund a property tax refund of up to half of the previous year’s property tax liability subject to the same income and asset limits as the state-funded program. The county option version used the same residency requirement but also required claimants to have occupied their home for nine months of the calendar year for which they are claiming benefits (Wyoming Act 26 of 2022). This requirement was added to the state-funded program the following year.

In 2022, the Wyoming Supreme Court upheld the requirement of three years of in-state residency for a veterans’ property tax exemption. The court found that the goal of encouraging long-term residence was a rational basis for the requirement that did not deny equal protection of the laws (Patterson 2022).

Legislation from the 2023 session fully funded the statewide Property Tax Refund Program for tax year 2022. In addition to adding the nine-month occupancy requirement, the legislation expanded eligibility, raising the income ceiling from 75 percent to 125 percent of county median household income (House Bill 0099 of 2023).

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed a package of property tax relief bills in March of 2024. The new legislation established a homestead exemption of 50 percent of a property’s value for senior homeowners who have paid property taxes in Wyoming for 25 years or more and currently reside in the home as their primary residence (House Bill 0003); doubled the benefit for an existing property tax exemption for veterans, bringing the maximum benefit to $6,000 of assessed value (Senate File 0089); increased the income ceiling for the Property Tax Refund Program from 125 percent to 145 percent of the median gross household income in the county of residence or the state, whichever is greater (House Bill 0004); and imposed a new assessment limit on residential property, exempting taxes on assessed value growth that exceeds 4 percent over the prior year (House Bill 0045). While the governor praised the legislature for responding to the need for targeted property tax relief, he vetoed a fourth piece of legislation, a two-year 25 percent homestead exemption for all single-family homes valued up to $2 million (Senate File 0054). Governor Gordon said the costly measure would have shifted the tax burden to nonresidential property while jeopardizing the fiscal stability of Wyoming governments (Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon 2024a; 2024b).

In November 2024, Wyoming voters approved a ballot measure to amend the state constitution to create a fourth property tax class for residential property and to authorize the legislature to create a subclass for owner-occupied primary residences. Upon signing Senate Joint Resolution 3 on the last day of the 2023 legislative session, Governor Gordon touted the legislatively referred amendment as “an opportunity to put the state on a path for long term property tax relief for families” (Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon 2023). The amendment will allow the state to apply a different assessment ratio to owner-occupied primary residences (Jones 2023).

With the passage of Senate File 0049 in February of 2025, beginning in 2026 the first $75,000 of business personal property owned by an individual is exempt from property taxation. Previously, Wyoming exempted the first $2,500 of business personal property value.

In March 2025, Governor Gordon signed Senate File 0069, creating a new homeowner property tax exemption giving all qualifying homeowners a 25 percent reduction on the first $1 million of single-family home's fair market value, taking effect for the 2025 tax year. The exemption applies statewide, is permanent with no sunset date, and will include an owner-occupied requirement starting the second year (Clements 2025b).

In November 2026, Wyoming voters will consider a citizen-initiated ballot measure that would exempt 50 percent of the assessed value of a homeowner’s primary residence from taxation. The homeowner must have resided in the state for at least one year and must have occupied the home for at least six months. This is the first referendum initiated by voters in 30 years in Wyoming (Clements 2025a).

Sources

Arnold, Billy. 2021. “Local Officials, Politicos See Promise In 'County-Optional' Property Tax Forgiveness Bill.” Jackson Hole News and Guide, December 29. www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/legislature/local-officials-politicos-see-promise-in-county-optional-property-tax-forgiveness-bill/article_531a348d-21e5-55d7-83a6-76641f158525.html.

Clements, Chris. 2025a. “Citizen-led Property Tax Initiative Has Enough Signatures for 2026 Ballot.” Wyoming Public Media. January 7. https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/politics-government/2025-01-07/citizen-led-property-tax-initiative-has-enough-signatures-for-2026-ballot.

———. 2025b. “Sweeping Property Tax Bill Inked by Gov. Gordon.” Wyoming Public Radio. March 6. https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/politics-government/2025-03-06/sweeping-property-tax-bill-inked-by-gov-gordon.

Education Law Center. 2023. “Wyoming Court Gives Greenlight to Major School Funding Case.” (January 4). https://edlawcenter.org/news/archives/school-funding-national/wyoming-court-gives-greenlight-to-major-school-funding-case.html.

Jones, Paul. 2023. “Property Tax Reform Amendment to Go Before Wyoming Voters.” State Tax Notes. March 13. www.taxnotes.com/tax-notes-state/property-taxation/property-tax-reform-amendment-go-wyoming-voters/2023/03/13/7g469.

Monaghan, Susan. 2024. “Campbell County School Officials Await Verdict in State Funding Case.” Gillette News Recorder. July 12. https://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/news/local/article_508da007-0405-5fee-baff-7f5564cd6af3.html.

Patterson, Sandra. 2022. “Residency Term for Veterans Exemption Ruled Constitutional.” Fair and Equitable 20(7) (September): 5. Kansas City, MO: International Association of Assessing Officers. https://researchexchange.iaao.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=f-e.   

Roberts, Phil. 2004. “A History of the Wyoming Sales Tax and How Lawmakers Chose It from Among Severance Taxes, and Income Tax, Gambling, and a Lottery.” Wyoming Law Review 4: 157–243.

SchoolFunding.Info. “Wyoming.” https://cee.tc.columbia.edu/schoolfundinginfo/states/wyoming/.

Significant Features of the Property Tax. https://www.lincolninst.edu/data/significant-features-property-tax/. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and George Washington Institute of Public Policy.

U.S. Census Bureau. 2023. 2023 Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finance Data. https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2023/econ/school-finances/secondary-education-finance.html.

Wyoming Department of Education. "School Foundation." https://edu.wyoming.gov/for-district-leadership/school-foundation/.

Wyoming Department of Revenue. “Property Tax Refund Program." https://revenue.wyo.gov/property-tax-refund-program

Wyoming Department of Revenue Property Tax Division. 2024. “Current Property Tax Relief/Credit/Deferral Programs.” (April). https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TPT8mIyI1T4kCOixCw6nmzZkO3OzlOZn/view?usp=sharing.

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. 2023. “Governor Gordon Signs Signature Piece of Legislation Supporting Mothers and Children and Another to Advance Property Tax Reform to Close Session.” Press Release. March 3. https://governor.wyo.gov/news-releases/governor-gordon-signs-signature-piece-of-legislation-supporting-mothers-and-children-and-another-to-advance-property-tax-reform-to-close-session.

———. 2024a. “Re: Veto of SF0054/Senate Enrolled Act No. 70 Homeowners Exemption.” SF0054 Veto Message. March 20. https://wyoleg.gov/2024/Veto/SF0054-Veto.pdf. 

———. 2024b. “Governor Gordon Signs Four Bills Expanding and Extending Property Tax Relief.” Press Release. March 21. https://governor.wyo.gov/news-releases/governor-gordon-signs-four-bills-expanding-and-extending-property-tax-relief.

Wyoming Taxpayers Association. 2024a. “Wyoming Property Taxation 2024.” https://wyotax.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LANDSCAPE-Property-Tax-2024-WEB.pdf.

———. 2024b. “Wyoming Tax Summary 2024 and How Wyoming Compares 2024.” https://wyotax.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/WTA-How-Wyoming-Compares-2024-WEB.pdf.