One of Wyoming’s chronic problems is often referred to as the state’s “brain drain.”
Essentially, Wyoming’s educated youth tend to seek employment outside the Cowboy State as opposed to living and working in their home state.
Gov. Matt Mead recently launched the Wyoming Grown initiative to try convincing the state’s sons and daughters living outside the state to come home.
While the idea is a good one, it will take a lot more than a state-backed initiative to bring former residents back.
Wyoming is a great state to live in, but economically speaking, it’s a very limited. In Sweetwater County the major economic generators are limited to trona and energy. Many of the area’s high school graduates are faced with a a decision of if they want to stay or if they want to leave. Students who actively obtain training and certifications to work in industrial settings are not only more apt to stay in the area, they have more opportunities to stay. Compare this to a student graduating from the University of Wyoming outside of a few specific disciplines, job opportunities can be few and far between. More opportunities for meaningful employment can be outside of Wyoming for many graduates.
The other part of the problem Wyoming faces is the attractive metropolitan areas like Denver or Salt Lake City have for many of the state’s youth. Wyoming doesn’t have a city that compares to either location.
Anecdotally, we’ve heard many people remark that the busiest days for Interstate 80 and Interstate 25 is Friday and Sunday; Friday is when people leave to visit Denver and Salt Lake City while Sunday is the day residents return. Some yearn for the opportunity to live within the hustle and bustle a major city provides. A few do come back, but others leave and never return.
If Wyoming wants to retain its youth, it has to diversify its economy. For Sweetwater County, that would mean working to bring companies outside of mineral extraction and energy to the area. Admittedly, it’s a tall order and one that could take years to accomplish. Doing so is more difficult now as the county doesn’t have a dedicated economic development agency in place to sell the county to potential businesses seeking a location to build on.
If Wyoming wants to attract its children to come back home, the state must work at diversifying and growing its economy, not building a snazzy website to sell the state for people who grew up here.
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