Online Poll: Does The Rest Of Wyoming Envy Cheyenne?

Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins in his ''Mayor's Minute" column on Friday said Cheyenne is the envy of Wyoming, due to the LEADS organization and the jobs it is bringing in.

''Cheyenne is the envy of the state because of LEADS and the successes in creating primary jobs for our community,'' the mayor wrote.

So does the rest of the state envy Cheyenne?

Reasons For Wyoming To Envy Cheyenne

In terms of the economy, as the mayor alluded to, it's certainly the most diverse community in Wyoming. For starters, there is state government. While branches of state government, like WYDOT and Game and Fish operate around Wyoming, Cheyenne is the capitol and will likely always have the lion's share of state jobs.

Cheyenne also has a diverse economic base. While the oil industry and agriculture. two industries that are important across the state are also factors in Laramie County, Cheyenne has the most diverse economy in Wyoming, with data centers and even some manufacturing, among other things.

Much of Wyoming is in a never-ending boom and bust cycle tied to the ups and downs of the energy industry. The diversity of Cheyenne's economy insulates it against that to a large extent.

Tourism is a major player in the Laramie County economy as well, thanks largely to Cheyenne Frontier Days. While CFD isn't as much of a year-round draw as, say, Yellowstone National Park, it is a very big deal.

And for the real big city attractions, like year-round concerts and pro sports, Denver is about an hour's drive away.

And let's face it. There is more to do in Cheyenne than most of the state. Watching the deer and the antelope play is fine, but it gets old after a while

Reasons Why The Rest Of The State Doesn't Envy Cheyenne.

That doesn't mean everyone in Wyoming wishes they live in Cheyenne.

They don't.

For starters, how Wyoming is Cheyenne? OK, the map says it's part of the Cowboy State.

The map says the same about Jackson Hole, but a lot of Wyomingites think that it's really a tiny bit of California that landed in northwest Wyoming, at least culturally.

And Cheyenne? Well, some folks in the rest of the state think it's really part of--horrors--Colorado, at least mentally and culturally. Cheyenne even gets called ''North Denver" on social media by some.

Cheyenne also has a relatively high crime rate by Wyoming standards. Ok, you may not get murdered in Cheyenne. But if you leave your car unlocked, bad things can happen. Maybe your car will even get stolen.

By Wyoming standards the traffic is pretty bad too. And even a lot of Cheyenne residents say the city has a disproportionate share of bad drivers.

And about being the state capitol. A lot of Casper residents to this day think that's an injustice. After all, Casper is right smack dab in the middle of Wyoming, not tucked away in some little corner down by Colorado and Nebraska.

So what do you think? Does the rest of Wyoming envy Cheyenne? Take our poll and give us your opinon!