Strong Foundations: Tackling Wyoming’s Housing Shortage with Data and Action

Heading into 2026, Wyoming’s employers and communities are feeling the strain of limited housing availability and rising costs. A tight housing market affects everything from workforce recruitment to economic growth, making affordable, accessible housing a top priority for business and civic leaders alike.

To help address these challenges, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has introduced the Strong Foundations playbook, a data-driven resource that provides actionable, location-specific strategies for expanding housing supply and improving affordability. Developed in partnership with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Housing Center, the playbook covers all 50 states, over 500 metropolitan areas, 1,000 counties, and 4,500 cities, offering a wealth of insights on local housing supply, migration trends, job growth, and affordability gaps.

Key strategies highlighted include:

• Flexible lot sizes in new and existing residential areas.

• Identification of suitable land for development to maximize growth potential.

• Zoning and building regulation best practices that support efficient, market-driven housing expansion.

Experts at the U.S. Chamber’s Housing Summit emphasized that housing solutions must be tailored to each community, what works in one city may not work in another. By turning data into actionable policies, communities can address the estimated 6-million-unit housing shortage nationwide, generate property tax revenue, and make infrastructure spending more efficient.

WY It Matters

For Wyoming employers, housing isn’t just a social issue, it’s a business issue. Limited housing options make it harder to attract and retain workers, slow business expansion, and strain local economies. Expanding the housing supply directly benefits Wyoming communities by supporting workforce growth, boosting property tax revenues, and strengthening the economic foundation for both employers and employees.

The Wyoming Chamber of Commerce, and local Chambers, must play a critical role in advancing these conversations. By using the data in the Strong Foundations playbook, Wyoming can advocate for smart, actionable housing solutions with local officials, ensuring that the needs of businesses and workers are aligned and addressed.

Bottom Line: Housing affordability is achievable when business leaders, policymakers, and community stakeholders work together. Wyoming’s growth and competitiveness depend on proactive solutions that expand supply, support workers, and sustain long-term economic prosperity.