Study Names Thermopolis Wyoming’s Poorest Town
Nearly 13 percent of the 3,000 residents in Thermopolis live below the poverty line, making it the poorest town in the Cowboy State.
A new study pegs the average annual household income in Thermopolis at $45,668, nearly 23 percent below the state average of $59,143. They estimate 12.7 percent of the population lives in poverty, slightly above the state average of 11.6 percent.
Compared to many other areas around the country, Thermopolis isn't poor. The median income doubled several towns in the nationwide study. The poverty rate in Thermopolis is also well below the national average of 15.1 percent.
The poorest town in America is Centreville, Illinois, where the average annual household income is $16,715 and just over 50 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.
Around the region, Sterling was ranked the poorest town in Colorado, with an average annual household income of $36,282. Other struggling towns in the study include Red Cloud, Neb., Vermillion, S.D., Deer Lodge, Mont., Rupert, Idaho, and Brigham City, Utah.