Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Cheyenne, WY MSA — October 2026
Cheyenne's job count dips even as unemployment stays low.
Laramie County shed 300 jobs year-over-year to 49,100 even as unemployment held at 3.0% — well below the national 4.1% rate — a split that bears watching as mining and temporary construction work wind down statewide.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Laramie County unemployment: 3.0% — vs. 4.1% national (September 2026)
- County nonfarm employment change: -300 jobs — First y/y decline since Dec. 2022; 49,100 total
- Wyoming mining employment: -2.5% — Q2 2026 y/y decline, statewide
- Wyoming avg. annual wage: $63,501 — +3.0% y/y, trailing 4.1% national wage growth
Key takeaways
Cheyenne's job count is shrinking even as unemployment stays low.
Laramie County lost 300 nonfarm jobs year-over-year through the latest count, the first such decline since 2022, while unemployment held at 3.0%. That combination is consistent with a labor force that is itself shrinking or aging out, a dynamic distinct from one absorbing new entrants, which government economists should track against statewide participation data.
Technical pay is pulling away from blue-collar and clerical pay locally.
Local software engineer pay rose to $165,909 (above the $154,403 national median) and financial analyst pay climbed to $106,993, both outpacing national trends, while manufacturing production worker pay fell to $35,360 against a stable $39,520 nationally. Press and commerce audiences should read this as evidence of a two-speed metro economy, with gains concentrated in professional and technical roles rather than spread broadly.
Mining's statewide decline has a visible local echo.
Wyoming mining employment fell 2.5% in the latest quarter, and Laramie County's own employment dip coincides with the wind-down of large temporary construction projects noted in state data. Economic development officials should distinguish cyclical project completion from a structural shift when assessing the county's industrial base.
Public-sector stability remains Cheyenne's quiet advantage.
State government employment continues to anchor the county's job base even as private nonfarm employment softens, a buffer that has kept Laramie County's unemployment rate roughly a point below the national figure for months running. That stability is a defensible talking point for commerce leaders pitching the metro's resilience, though it also means private-sector momentum is the real variable to watch.
Median advertised pay by role — Cheyenne, WY MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $28,149 | $34,320 | $46,800 | Stable | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $28,080 | $31,200 | $33,280 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $35,846 | $41,600 | $41,600 | Significant increase | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $62,598 | $81,940 | $93,600 | Stable | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $32,144 | $34,320 | $39,520 | Moderate decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $37,391 | $41,856 | $44,720 | Moderate decline | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $68,562 | $81,120 | $86,642 | Moderate increase | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $32,747 | $35,360 | $35,734 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $34,215 | $39,318 | $41,600 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $37,789 | $38,979 | $38,979 | Stable | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $37,212 | $39,520 | $41,600 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $36,400 | $42,073 | $44,867 | Moderate decline | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $57,689 | $69,523 | $69,523 | Moderate increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $79,877 | $92,240 | $104,816 | Moderate decline | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $134,394 | $165,909 | $178,560 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $106,471 | $132,483 | $143,177 | Stable | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $56,971 | $68,660 | $72,631 | Moderate decline | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $85,760 | $106,993 | $115,797 | Significant increase | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $62,338 | $67,500 | $76,723 | Moderate decline | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $54,559 | $79,820 | $91,936 | Moderate increase | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager | — | — | — | No data | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $30,160 | $53,876 | $66,879 | Stable | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $80,691 | $120,063 | $141,604 | Significant increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager | — | — | — | No data | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $81,912 | $102,199 | $111,830 | Stable | $98,302 |
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Industry snapshot
| Sector | Median advertised pay | Pay trend | Postings trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | $80,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $126,155 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $55,524 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $75,000 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $143,417 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $89,925 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $96,678 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $72,500 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $33,840 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $67,177 | Stable | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Laramie County's unemployment rate held at 3.0% in September, roughly half the national 4.1% rate, even as the county posted its first year-over-year decline in nonfarm employment since December 2022, shedding 300 jobs to 49,100. Statewide, construction tied to data centers and wind-energy projects and a 2.5% expansion in private education and health services are offsetting a 2.5% contraction in mining, a divergence that mirrors Cheyenne's own mix of stable government and healthcare employment against softer goods-producing activity.
What it means
Cheyenne's sub-3.5% unemployment rate alongside a flattening job count points to a metro economy operating near capacity — a signal that infrastructure and public-sector capacity will likely be the binding constraint on new investment, separate from the question of labor availability. Commerce leaders evaluating expansion or relocation prospects should weigh that local wage levels for technical and professional roles (software engineering, financial analysis) are rising faster than national medians, while several blue-collar and clerical categories are softening, a divergence worth factoring into site-selection or workforce-readiness conversations. Consider reviewing how this bifurcated wage pattern — strength in professional/technical pay, softness in production and clerical pay — affects assumptions about the metro's cost-of-doing-business pitch to prospective employers.
Looking ahead
Expected data release: BLS publishes October unemployment figures for Wyoming and the Cheyenne MSA on November 23; watch whether the county's first year-over-year employment decline in three years persists or proves a one-month anomaly.
Emerging pressure point: Bechtel's October layoff notice tied to its split from the TerraPower Natrium nuclear demonstration project is one of the few confirmed Wyoming WARN filings this fall; track whether additional notices tied to large energy or construction projects surface given the broader statewide pattern of project-completion job losses.
Worth watching: Construction employment statewide is projected to grow 5.5% through 2027 on data-center and wind-farm work; local economic development officials should monitor whether Laramie County captures a share of that growth to offset the mining and temporary-project losses already showing up in the data.
Potential inflection point: National wage growth (4.1% average hourly earnings) continues to outpace Wyoming's roughly 3% annual wage rise; a widening gap could affect the metro's ability to compete for professional and technical talent even with its strong unemployment and participation figures.
Sources
- Cheyenne Economic Health Index / Wyoming Department of Workforce Services — Laramie County first y/y nonfarm employment decline since Dec. 2022, dropping to 49,100
- Wyoming Department of Workforce Services — Laramie County not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate 3.0% in September 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — National unemployment rate stable at 4.1% in October 2026
- Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Research & Planning — Wyoming mining industry employment declined 2.5% in Q2 2026
- Wyoming WARN notice tracking — Bechtel filed WARN layoff notice tied to TerraPower Natrium project split, October 2026
- Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Research & Planning — Wyoming average annual wage rose ~3% to approximately $63,510 in 2025
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
Free to read and cite with attribution to WageScape. Terms of use.