Cost of Living in Sublette County rises
2nd Most expensive county in Wyoming
October 9, 2005
According to the 2nd Quarter 2005 Wyoming Cost of Living Index, Sublette County remains the second most expensive county to live in the state of Wyoming, slightly under Teton County. The report is done by the Economic Analysis Division of the Department of Administration and Information in Cheyenne. The 2nd quarter report was issued on September 30, 2005.
Each quarter, twenty-eight communities across the state are price compared for 140 items in six categories: Housing, Transportation, Food, Recreation & Personal Care, Medical and Apparel. The Housing category, due to its relative importance in the average consumer's budget, carries the largest weight factor and is the most influential category in both the comparative index and the inflation rates. For Sublette County, Pinedale was the community that was price surveyed.
"Counties that are experiencing natural resource extraction activity are ranked towards the top of the comparative index," said Justin Ballard, senior economist with the State Economic Analysis Division.
The Wyoming annual All Items inflation rate for the second quarter of 2004 through the second quarter of 2005 was 4.5%. The inflation rate represents the percent change in the price level of a standard basket of selected consumer items priced this quarter, compared with the price level of the same goods recorded one year ago.
The Transportation category saw an increase of 6.2% over year ago levels. "This is the largest increase in Transportation related items since the second quarter of 2000," said Ballard. Not surprisingly, higher gasoline prices drove the overall Transportation increase. Gasoline prices surged over 17% throughout the State from the second quarter of 2004 to the second quarter of 2005. Due to the timing of the data collection for report, the effects of significantly higher gasoline prices caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita were not reflected in the numbers of this second quarter report.
In Sublette County, the average rental rate for a house jumped 9.1% from $808 in 2004 to $882 in 2005. The monthly rental rate for a mobile home decreased 5.5% from 2004 to 2005 ($624 to $590/month). The monthly rent for an apartment rose 8.0% from $647 to $699.
Related Links:
2nd Quarter Wyoming Cost of Living Report
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