http://www.boston.com/dailynews/086/nation/Wyoming_bounces_back_with_90s_:.shtml

Wyoming bounces back with '90s population growth

By Robert W. Black, Associated Press, 3/27/2001 19:48

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) Led by the vacation paradise of Jackson, towns across Wyoming swelled with new residents during the last decade as the state rebounded from a 1980s population dip, census figures released Tuesday showed.

The state's population grew 8.9 percent to 493,782 last year, though Wyoming remains the smallest state. By comparison, nearly six times as many people 2.8 million visited Yellowstone last year.

Some don't mind living in the least-populated state.

''I love it. I don't like people,'' said Tim Hendricks, a maintenance worker for the Cheyenne school district. ''I'm a hunter and fisherman, and I enjoy being out by myself instead of around too many people.''

The numbers provide bragging rights for which cities and counties are the most populous and for those who prefer elbow room the sparsest.

Jackson, nestled near the Tetons and just south of Yellowstone National Park, grew 93.4 percent, from 4,472 in 1990 to 8,647 in 2000. Teton County, which includes Jackson, increased from 11,172 to 18,251, a 63.4 percent jump.

The area beckons not only the likes of Vice President Dick Cheney, World Bank President James Wolfensohn and screen stars Harrison Ford and Sandra Bullock, but many who will take any job to live in Jackson Hole.

''I think a lot of people are drawn here by the natural beauty, the opportunity to participate in outdoors activities, and the economy is really strong here,'' Jackson Mayor Jeanne Jackson said.

The lack or high cost of housing forces many to commute from 20 or 30 miles away or pile into what homes are available.

''In the normal two-bedroom town house, where you'd expect to find two people, we have four to six or more,'' Town Administrator Michael Parda said.

Other mountainous areas in northern Wyoming also saw double-digit growth: Sheridan, in the shadow of the Big Horn Mountains, grew 13.7 percent, and Cody, another gateway to Yellowstone, grew 11.9 percent.

On the plains, coal-rich Gillette increased 11.4 percent.

Among the state's major cities, both Cheyenne and Casper grew by at least 6 percent, while Rock Springs, Green River and Rawlins slipped by up to 9 percent.

-- Anonymous, March 28, 2001