Wyoming city guide
Moving From California to Cody, WY
Yellowstone's eastern gateway, with a tourism economy, a strong hospital for its size, and the highest home values of the six.
Housing comparison
California versus Cody, side by side
- Median home value
- $725,800
- $378,500
- Median annual property tax
- $5,114
- $2,173
- Median monthly cost, owners with a mortgage
- $2,844
- $1,517
- Population
- 39.0 million (state)
- 10,276
Figures are US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates for the city place. Property tax and monthly cost rows cover owner-occupied units with a mortgage, so they describe what current owners pay, not what a new buyer would pay at today's prices. California column is the statewide baseline used across this site.
Why Californians look at Cody
Cody sits 53 miles from Yellowstone's east entrance, and that single fact shapes everything about the town: its economy, its seasons, its housing market, and its traffic. Summer brings hundreds of thousands of visitors through, and winter empties the highway.
For a California household, the appeal is obvious. This is a genuine western town with a rodeo, a serious museum complex, and national park access, at an ACS median home value of $378,500, roughly half the California statewide median.
It is also the smallest kind of market where you should look carefully at what your money actually buys. At a population near 10,300, the inventory is thin, and the desirable properties are the ones every other out-of-state buyer is also watching.
Cody fits you if
- You want national park access, fly fishing, and backcountry within minutes of your driveway.
- You are retiring and want a small town with a strong hospital rather than a clinic.
- You value a real cultural anchor. The Buffalo Bill Center of the West is a serious institution for a town this size.
- Your income is portable and does not depend on the seasonal local economy.
Look elsewhere if
- You need year-round local employment. Cody's job market is heavily seasonal.
- You want to avoid tourist traffic. In summer, the town is a corridor.
- You need advanced specialty medicine. Cody's hospital is a critical access facility, and complex care means Billings.
- You want a large selection of homes. Inventory is limited at this size.
Housing in Cody
Cody's stock includes older homes near the historic downtown along Sheridan Avenue, mid-century neighborhoods spreading north and south, and newer construction plus acreage toward the reservoir and the South Fork.
The ACS median home value is $378,500, the highest of the six Wyoming cities in this set, and the median annual real estate tax for owners with a mortgage is $2,173. The median monthly owner cost with a mortgage is $1,517, lower than in Sheridan or Cheyenne, which reflects how many Cody owners bought years ago or bought without financing.
Short-term rental demand is a genuine factor in this market. That supports values, and it also means some neighborhoods have more visitors than neighbors during the season. Check the local rules and the block before you buy.
Work and the local economy
Tourism is the dominant industry. Cody brands itself the gateway to Yellowstone, and estimates put summer visitation in the range of 300,000 to 400,000 people annually, which supports lodging, restaurants, guiding, and retail.
West Park Hospital District, a critical access hospital, is a major year-round employer alongside Park County School District 6 and local government.
The seasonality is the honest caveat. Jobs, hours, and business revenue peak between May and September and contract sharply afterward. Households arriving with retirement or remote income avoid that swing entirely.
Climate and setting
Cody sits at about 5,280 feet in the Bighorn Basin, in the rain shadow of the Absaroka Range. It is drier and often milder in winter than towns at similar elevation elsewhere in the state, with January averaging in the mid twenties.
Chinook winds can raise winter temperatures dramatically in a matter of hours, and the same terrain produces strong wind events. Summers are warm, dry, and comfortable at night.
The mountains west of town hold snow into summer, and the Chief Joseph and Beartooth highways, both spectacular, close seasonally.
Getting around, care, and schools
- Commercial air
- Yellowstone Regional Airport (COD) sits about two miles from downtown and is the only commercial airport in Park County. Billings Logan International is the larger alternative.
- Yellowstone
- About 53 miles to the park's east entrance.
- Hospital
- West Park Hospital District, a critical access hospital on Sheridan Avenue.
- Public schools
- Park County School District 6, headquartered in Cody with eight schools.
- Higher education
- No four-year university in town. Northwest College is in nearby Powell.
- Elevation
- About 5,280 feet.
The trade-offs
- The economy runs on Yellowstone visitation. When park traffic falls, so does local income.
- Healthcare is critical access. Serious or specialized treatment means traveling to Billings.
- Summer traffic through town is heavy, and services are stretched during the season.
- Inventory is thin at this population, so waiting for the right property can take time.
Other Wyoming towns people compare
Cheyenne
Wyoming's capital and largest city, 100 miles from Denver, with the steadiest employment base in the state and no state income tax.
Casper
The state's second largest city, with the widest housing inventory and the lowest prices of Wyoming's real towns, tied to the energy cycle.
Laramie
A university town at 7,200 feet, younger and more walkable than the rest of Wyoming, with a single-employer economy.
Sheridan
A Bighorn Mountain town with a genuine main street and the most desirable non-resort housing market in Wyoming.
Buffalo
A quiet town of about 4,600 at the foot of the Bighorns, chosen by retirees who want mountains without resort pricing.
Statewide figures, tax detail, and the full Wyoming picture are on the Wyoming page. Compare property, income, and sales tax across all 49 destination states on Taxes, and see where Californians are actually moving on Stats.
Sources
- US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25077 (median home value), retrieved via Census Reporter, September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25103 (median real estate taxes paid, owner-occupied units with a mortgage), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25088 (median selected monthly owner costs, owner-occupied units with a mortgage), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B01003 (total population), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- Wyoming Public Media, reporting on Cody tourism and Yellowstone visitation, October 14, 2022.
- Yellowstone Regional Airport, Park County, Wyoming.
- Park County School District 6.
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