Rental prices show increase

According to a report on the Wyoming Cost of Living Index, released Monday by the Economic Analysis Division of the Wyoming Department of Administration and Information, average rental rates in Hot Springs County have increased from the second quarter 2018 to the second quarter 2019.

The report shows average apartment rent went from $505 to $506, a small increase of 0.1 percent. Average mobile home lot rent went from $215 to $245, an increase of 14 percent. Average house rent went from $635 to $715, up 12.6 percent. Average mobile home rent went from $553 to $586, six percent.

For reference, an apartment refers to a two-bedroom, unfurnished unit, excluding gas and electric. Mobile home lot refers to a single-wide, including water. A house refers to a two- or three-bedroom, single-family unit, excluding gas and electric. A mobile home refers to a two- or three-bedroom unit, including lot rent.

The increases are similar to surrounding counties. In Fremont County: Apartments went from $676 to $677, 0.2 percent; mobile home lots wen from $204 to $207, 1.2 percent; houses went from $889 to $941, 5.8 percent; and mobile homes went from $643 to $673, 4.7 percent.

In Park County: Apartments went from $648 to $665, 2.6 percent; mobile home lots wen from $274 to $299, 9.2 percent; and houses went from $916 to $933, 1.9 percent. Mobile homes actually showed a decrease from $772 to $728, -5.7 percent.

In Washakie County: Apartments went from $467 to $527, 12.8 percent; and houses went from $706 to $718, 1.8 percent. There were too few observations to report dates for mobile home lots and mobile homes.

The regional average increases for the Northwest were: Apartment, 3.9 percent; mobile home lot, 5.5 percent; house, 2.6 percent; and mobile home, 0.2 percent. Statewide average of change was: Apartment, 3.9 percent; mobile home lot, -1 percent; house, 4.6 percent; and mobile home, 1.4 percent.

The report also has a comparative cost of living index, with the statewide average of 100. For the county, averages were: 110 for food, 80 for housing, 115 for apparel, 101 for transportation, 103 for medical, 100 for recreation and personal care, and 93 for all items.

Inflation is reported for the state, by consumer category, and for five regions in the State. Inflation measures year-over-year price changes in six consumer categories. The inflation figures for the second quarter of 2019 represent the percent change in the price level of a standard basket of selected consumer items priced in the second quarter of 2019, compared with the price level of the same goods recorded one year ago

All items statewide inflation was two percent. Statewide inflation by consumer category was: Medical, five percent; Apparel, 3.6 percent; Housing, 2.7 percent; Food, 2.3 percent; Recreation & Personal Care, -0.3 percent; and Transportation, -0.8 percent

Regional inflation rates are: Northwest, 1.9 percent; Northeast, 2.3 percent; Central, 2.3 percent; Southwest, 2.2 percent; and Southeast, 1.7 percent.

Nationally, the inflation rate from June 2018 to June 2019 was 1.6 percent (CPI-U), as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in the Consumer Price Index.

The Wyoming Cost of Living Index (WCLI) consists of two parts, Inflation, which measures year-over-year change (annual) and the Comparative Cost of Living Index which compares each county’s cost of living in one period (not over time) to the statewide average. The Comparative Cost of Living Index represents each county’s price level compared to the statewide average (100) during a single time period, in this case, the second quarter of 2019.

For the second quarter of 2019, the Comparative Cost of Living Index ranked Teton (161) as the county with the highest All Items value, which indicates that the cost of living in Teton County was estimated 61 percent higher than the statewide average in the quarter.

The WCLI is produced biannually, the second quarter and fourth quarter. Price data are collected in 28 cities and towns in Wyoming and the data are used to build a Comparative Cost of Living Index by county and to estimate overall inflation rates for Wyoming and the five designated regions of the State.

Communities across the State are included in the WCLI based on the following criteria: First, the largest city or town in each county is priced; additionally, prices are collected in any city or town with populations greater than 5,000 or in cases of a city or town having at least 80 percent of a county’s largest community’s population. In counties where only one community was priced, those prices were used to represent the entire county. In counties where two communities were surveyed, a population-weighted average of the prices for the two communities was used for the entire county. In addition, starting with the second quarter of 2003 WCLI report, Afton, in Lincoln County, was added as a sampling point through legislative action in 2003. Kemmerer is still priced. Afton and Kemmerer report separate Comparative Cost of Living Index numbers. Beginning with the second quarter of 2004, Afton, has been included in the inflation calculations.

The 140 consumer items surveyed were aggregated into six categories, which were then weighted using item weights from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Consumer Price Index (CPIU), reflective of their overall importance in the average consumer’s budget. These categories, and their respective weight components, include Housing (48.4 percent), Transportation (16.3 percent), Food (13.3 percent), Recreation and Personal Care (9.5 percent), Medical (8.7 percent), and Apparel (3.8 percent).