Although Wyoming’s population is almost 85% white, the state is not the whitest in the nation, according to the latest U.S. Census results.
Results from the 2020 census released this week show that Wyoming actually places fifth out of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., for having the highest percentage of white residents at 84.7%, or 488,374 of its 576,851 residents. In first place is Maine with a percentage of 90.8%.
However, Wyoming does have a higher percentage of people identifying themselves as white than any of its neighbors.
Montana is in sixth place with 84.5% of its residents identifying themselves as white, followed by North Dakota in eighth place at 82.9%, Idaho in tenth place at 82.1%, South Dakota in 11th at 80,7%, Utah in 13th at 78.7%, Nebraska in 14th at 78.4% and Colorado in 25th at 70.7%.
The largest percentage of Wyoming residents who said they were not white, 10.2%, 59,046, identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino, while those identifying as American Indian, 13,898, made up 2.4% of the state’s population.
The state’s Hispanic or Latino population increased by 17.5%, 8,815 people, between 2010 and 2020, according to the census data, while the American Indian population grew by 4.2%, 562 people.
During the same time, the state’s white population declined by 22,905, 4.5%.
Those identifying themselves as Black or Asian were 0.9% of the population.
Census results showed that in eight of the state’s counties, the population is more than 90% white. Crook County had the highest percentage at 94.6%.
The highest percentage of people who said they were not white was in Fremont County, home to the Wind River Indian Reservation, where 20.9% of the residents identified themselves as American Indians.
The highest percentage of Hispanic or Latino residents was found in Carbon County, 17.9%, followed by Sweetwater County at 15.5%.
