8 Things That Make Wyoming Different From Every Other Western State

Wide-open land and big skies are easy to find across the West.

Wyoming has a few claims to fame that set it apart from its neighbors, and some may even surprise locals.

Here’s what makes Wyoming different from every other western state.

1. Coal Production

Of all the coal mined in the United States in 2022, 41.2% came from Wyoming, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

West Virginia was second.

It mined 14.0%.

Pennsylvania, Illinois and Kentucky took the next three spots, at 6.7%, 6.3% and 4.8%.

If you scan that top five for another Western state, you won’t find one.

Add up Pennsylvania, Illinois and Kentucky, and you get 17.8%, less than half of Wyoming’s 41.2%.

2. Jackson Hole Airport

The National Park Service says that if you fly into Jackson Hole Airport, you’re landing at the only commercial airport within a national park in the country.

Commercial operation began in 1946, before the park expanded.

It’s now the busiest airport in the state.

3. Greater Sage-Grouse

Wyoming Game and Fish’s magazine said in April 2025 that Wyoming has more greater sage-grouse than any other state.

Greater sage-grouse live in 11 states, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

If you check that list, you’ll find all four of Wyoming’s Western neighbors, Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Utah, on it.

Read the 2021 study of the American West, and you’ll learn that western Wyoming was the only region to show relatively stable populations.

4. Cheyenne’s Size

Cheyenne is Wyoming’s largest city, with 65,132 residents in the 2020 Census.

Casper had 59,038 that year.

If you line up the largest city from each of the other 12 Western states, Cheyenne comes in last.

Billings, Montana, is the closest.

Start there, and you’re already at 117,116 residents, about 80% more than Cheyenne has.

5. Federal Court District

Wyoming’s federal court district includes the parts of Yellowstone National Park that are in Montana and Idaho.

Congress made that move in 1948.

If you hike a Yellowstone trail across the Idaho line, you’re still in Wyoming’s court district.

Check the statute for Idaho’s district, and you’ll see it covers Idaho “exclusive of Yellowstone National Park.”

Montana’s statute says the same.

No other Western state’s district includes land in another state, based on the district statutes in 28 U.S. Code Chapter 5.

Hawaii’s district adds Pacific islands such as Midway Island and Wake Island, which aren’t states.

6. Trona Deposits

In its 2026 Mineral Commodity Summaries, the USGS puts the world’s largest deposit of trona in Wyoming’s Green River Basin.

If you’re measuring the deposit, the Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) puts it at about 1,000 square miles, mostly in Sweetwater County.

It has 25 major beds.

The beds are in the Wilkins Peak Member.

7. Elk Feedgrounds

Wyoming Public Media’s April 2024 report on elk feedgrounds says Wyoming is the only state with a formal elk-feeding program.

The first feedgrounds, including the National Elk Refuge, were established in the early 1900s, according to Wyoming Game and Fish.

If you drive through Teton, Sublette or Lincoln County in winter, you’re in the area where about 20,000 elk were fed in 2019.

Keeping elk away from cattle, where they can transmit brucellosis, has become the primary driver of the practice.

8. Vehicle Registrations

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) found that Wyoming led every state in 2022, with 1,112 registered light-duty vehicles for every 1,000 people.

Compare that with the national average of 847, and you’ll see Wyoming had 265 more vehicles for every 1,000 people.

Oklahoma came next at 1,057.

If you look at the other end of the list, you’ll find the District of Columbia at 480.

States with more rural populations and less access to public transit tend to have more registered vehicles per capita, according to the DOE.

Powder River Basin

Most of Wyoming’s coal comes from Campbell County’s mines in the Powder River Basin, according to the WSGS.

If you look up the nation’s 10 largest coal mines, you’ll find seven in the Wyoming part of the basin.

Peabody Energy’s North Antelope Rochelle Complex is the nation’s largest coal mine.

It produced more than 62 million tons in 2021.

Campbell County has 11 mines.

If you’re driving through Campbell County, you’re in the county that produces the majority of the state’s coal.

Statewide, Wyoming coal miners average 23 short tons per employee per hour, the highest productivity in the nation, according to the WSGS.

Two Ocean Pass

The USGS says Two Ocean Pass doesn't look like a pass at all.

It's a high alpine meadow in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest.

If you're looking for the Continental Divide, it's obvious in some places, like a high mountain pass.

At Two Ocean Pass, the divide is barely perceptible.

North Two Ocean Creek branches in two, exactly along the Continental Divide.

One branch is Pacific Creek.

The other is Atlantic Creek.

A Wyoming geologist told Cowboy State Daily in 2024 that the split is a unique feature on the Continental Divide.