Wyoming Business Council warns of long‑term GDP stagnation, cites youth out‑migration and urges local action

Kaylee Holyfield, Southeast Regional Director for the Wyoming Business Council, told the Cheyenne City Council at a work session that "Wyoming's economy and our GDP is in long‑term either stagnation or decline," and that the state faces a pressing workforce problem, including what she described as "the highest youth out‑migration rate in the country."

Holyfield gave a slide presentation and summarized results from a fall poll the agency commissioned. She said 53% of Wyomingites reported having a child, grandchild or family member who left the state for opportunity, roughly three‑quarters of respondents described their local economy as stagnant or declining, and county‑level results for Laramie County included 39% saying the economy is "strong," 23% "stagnant," 19% "down" and 15% saying the county is in "recession."

The presentation framed several common beliefs as myths. Holyfield said the “boomerang” effect — young people leaving and later returning — is too small to reverse long‑term trends, while non‑resource‑sector GDP has shown growth since 2008. She also reported broad public support for managed growth: "nearly two‑thirds of Wyomingites support population growth if it means more opportunities for our family, our friends, and our neighbors," and about eight in 10 respondents said local government should take the lead on economic initiatives.

Holyfield emphasized housing and workforce as the top local priorities. "Cost of living and the cost and availability of housing were the top of the list of concerns for constituents," she said, and she told council members that housing in many Wyoming communities behaves as inelastic supply due to permitting and other local restrictions.

Council members used the session for questions and to press the Business Council for specific follow‑up. Councilwoman Dr. Michelle Aldrich asked whether the problems Holyfield described were national in scope and whether the Business Council compares its findings with other states; she also urged deeper analysis of drivers — such as amenity gaps, housing type and perceptions of cultural belonging — that can influence whether young people stay.

Holyfield said the agency does compare some indicators and offered to provide additional county‑level data. On industry questions, she pointed council members to materials collected by Cheyenne Leads on data centers and said the Business Council can share those and other local analyses.

On recent internal decisions, Holyfield told the council that the Business Council board has directed staff to pursue three priorities: seed regional economic development districts to concentrate expertise and resources; review and substantially condense the agency’s 94‑page statute to improve flexibility; and develop a smaller set of leading and lagging metrics to measure progress. "We're going to be moving forward with that strategy," she said.

Council members asked about financing and fiscal tools. Councilman Wolf raised the state treasurer’s estimate of large infrastructure needs and asked whether opportunity zones or local sales‑tax measures (the city’s fifth and sixth penny) could help. Holyfield said the poll asked about willingness to pay for growth‑oriented infrastructure and that about 30% of respondents were open to paying additional taxes to spur opportunities. She praised Cheyenne's use of tools such as TIF districts and said local examples — downtown and housing projects, and data center infrastructure — provide models other communities may study.

Holyfield closed by inviting council members to join the Business Council’s "team of thousands" network and by offering follow‑up materials, webinars and the full poll results. The chair adjourned the work session after members requested additional comparisons and data.