No State Income Tax, Low Cost Of Living Vault Casper Into Top 10 Retirement Cities

CASPER — Wyoming’s central city by the mountain continues to get national attention as a destination — and not just as a stopover on the way to Yellowstone National Park, the Wind River Range or the Bighorns.

Casper’s 59,000 residents include nearly 10,000 senior citizens, which isn’t surprising considering the city has vaulted onto a list of the top 10 retirement spots in America, according to WalletHub’s national rankings.

The recent analysis by the personal finance company to determine the Best Retirement Cities for seniors examined the retiree-friendliness of 180 cities using 45 metrics that includes tax laws, cost of living, activities that are available and health care access and quality.

Casper ranks ninth. Along with Scottsdale, Arizona, (No. 6), they were the only two cities in the top 10 from the West. Las Vegas ranked 11th, Denver 14th and Cheyenne 23rd.

The top city in the nation to retire, according to the ranking, is Orlando, Florida.

Scores were awarded in four categories — affordability, activities, quality of life and health care. Casper ranked third in affordability, 72nd for activities, 29th in quality of life and 88th in health care quality.

Count Casper resident Ron Strang, 73, among the advocates for the city. He and his wife moved to Casper from Las Vegas 38 years ago because they did not want to raise their four daughters there.

They knew then they’d stay after retiring.

“I looked at the factors in Casper, knowing I would retire here,” Strang said. “The cost of living was a huge factor and the cost of housing was even better. We have no state tax. … It’s a very, very safe place to live.”

Safety, Affordability, Recreation

A volunteer at the Casper Senior Center, Strang said he suffered a stroke in 2009. He has since become a volunteer and advocate for the center and the city.

In addition to safety and affordability in Casper, he said recreation was a big part of the reason he chose to move his family to the city.

“I moved here because 45 minutes from my house I could fish for just about anything in the United States,” he said.

Strang said for seniors, a hunting license is available at little cost or no cost for deer, antelope and elk. As someone confined to a wheelchair, he can get a handicap license that allows him to hunt out of a vehicle and five days before the opening of the season.

Michael Houck of the Michael Houck Real Estate Team in Casper said inquiries to his office from people who are out of state and near retirement or considering retirement represent about the 20% or 25% of calls. They are interested in the state because of the lack of tax on Social Security, pensions, or retirement account withdrawals.

“That’s the kind of first thing that draws people to Wyoming when they start to think retirement and then behind it is just our cost of living,” he said. “Our cost of living is extremely low compared to the rest of the country.”

The median price for a house in Casper currently is around $330,000. In Denver that median hits about $450,000, Houck said. But he said the low property taxes on the house also is a big draw when compared to other regions.

Another factor with retirees moving to the region are children who moved to the city or the state for jobs. Grandparents want to be near their grandkids.

Houck said the mountains and the fact that Casper has Banner Wyoming Medical Center and a significant health industry also encourages retirees. Interest in the city has been “stable” for several years but like other more rural areas of the country became “crazy” during the pandemic.

And he said that interest has never really stopped.

“It’s kind of like the last frontier, where people (believe) it’s still that small town feel,” he said. “I really think the reason they are moving here is just to get away from the big cities.”

Retirement-age Visitors

Visit Casper Marketing Director Wayne Stewart said the visitor’s bureau uses geolocation data platform to track interactions “to help us gather insight on our visitors.”

Those in the retirement age bracket represent a significant amount of traffic with the agency.

“We do see a lot of people in that retirement age range come here year-round, and they typically are the demographic which spends the most money,” he said. “That obviously implies that they enjoy it here and are willing to participate in all that we have to offer.”

Stewart said Visit Casper’s data show the senior demographic favor eating at restaurants, going to museums and taking part in outdoor recreation. Cultural and historical travel as people look to “enrich their lives” are a big part of the city being a destination, he said.

Fort Caspar and the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center as well as outdoor recreation opportunities are draws for the retirement bracket.

“Casper has a lot of really easily accessible outdoor recreation that any and all ages can enjoy, it’s not just for a thrill-seeking adventure traveler,” Stewart said. “We have miles of paved trails along the North Platte River … We also have the waterfall on Casper Mountain, which you know you can hike the full bridle trail but to get to the waterfall and experience those views is less than half a mile.”

Stewart said the cross-country trails on top of Casper Mountain that are available in the summer are relatively easy to walk or hike. It allows for those who are older and facing some physical challenges to get out and experience outdoor recreation.

Stewart said the Visit Casper works with Advance Casper, a public-private Casper economic development group, to create a relocation package that has a lot of information on why the city is a “great place to live, work, and play” and also advertises on livability.com to promote the city as a place to move to.

The website choosecpr.com shows the city boasts the ninth lowest real estate property taxes in the country and 10th lowest cost-of-living in the United States.

There are 53 parks, four dog parks, 90 miles of trails, 11 museums and more than 190 restaurants.

Senior Thoughts

Bob Kuhlman, 80, and his wife Anita said they appreciate the access to health care.

“I like the things that are available for entertainment, things that you don’t have to do, but you can,” he said.

The Kuhlmans initially moved from Nebraska to Glenrock in 1972. They now live in Casper.

One thing Kuhlman is concerned about is the rising cost of living — in particular taxes. He said he and his wife are paying double or triple what they used to, and the affordability margin remains doable, but only because he planned for it. He is not a fan of a new 6th-cent sales tax proposal on the November ballot in Casper that will allow voters to choose projects to fund through the extra penny.

“That’s going to be a burden on people. There are a lot of things that are nice, but not really necessary,” he said. “If they are going to tax, in this economy that is kind of rough.”

Kuhlman said he would still recommend Casper as a place to retire.

Retired Natrona County High School chemistry teacher Frank Stofflet, 88, has been in Casper for 60 years. He moved into his house in 1964 and said it is hard for him to make comparisons to other places. But he enjoys what the city has to offer in his retirement.

“I take a lot of Casper College learning classes, and we have the Wyoming Symphony and we’ve got the mountain,” he said. “I use the bike trails, there is plenty going on. I’ve stayed connected to the school so I go to ball games.”

Those who move to the area still need to get used to the winter. While last winter was mild, the previous winter dumped 134.5 inches of snow in Casper.

Houck said he has had a few retirees who came to the state for the tax benefits have second thoughts, but not many. A few retirees voiced concerns during the snowy winter a couple of years ago.

“I’ve had many ask me if that was a unique situation,” he said.

Other commendations for the city in the past have included it being named a top 20 mountain town by Men’s Journal, a top 10 spot to catch a trophy brown trout by Field and Stream Magazine, and a top big fish destination by Angler Magazine.

Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.