Ranchester, Wyoming

Ranchester is a town in Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,064 at the 2020 census.

History

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad came through the area in 1894. The townsite was first used when a railroad tie mill was created. The Englishman combined "ranch" with "chester" due to many towns in England ending that way. Governor Joseph M. Carey attended a picnic celebrating the new town.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 855 people, 312 households, and 236 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 332 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 90.3% White, 7.3% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.6% of the population.

There were 312 households, of which 42.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 24.4% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of single individuals, and 7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.09.

The median age in the town was 31.7 years. 32.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.3% were from 25 to 44; 23.6% were from 45 to 64; and 11.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 50.5% male and 49.5% female.

2000 census

As of the census

Ranchester has a public library, a branch of the Sheridan County Public Library System.

Education

Public education in the town of Ranchester is provided by Sheridan County School District #1. Tongue River Elementary (grades K–5) and Tongue River Middle School (grades 6–8) are in Ranchester. Tongue River High School (grades 9–12) is in Dayton, Wyoming.

Media

;Radio

KROE AM 930
KWYO AM 1410
KHRW FM 92.7
KLGT FM 96.5
KYTI FM 93.7
KZWY FM 94.9
KZZS FM 98.3
KZMQ-FM 100.3
KLQQ FM 104.9

;Television

Four television stations serve Ranchester: KTVQ (CBS) from Billings, and KTWO (ABC) from Casper. KSWY (NBC) from Casper, and PBS station K15HK-D, which is a local repeater for KCWC-DT in Lander.