Living in Gillette, Wyoming: What the Mayor Told Me (Part 1)
Living in Gillette, Wyoming right now means a town of about 34,000 people that still runs on coal, oil, and gas, is actively recruiting nuclear fuel manufacturing, and where entry-level buyers are looking at roughly $300,000 to $400,000 against very low inventory. That last number came from Mayor Shay Lundvall, not from me, and it is the part nobody mentions at the ribbon cuttings.
I sat down with Shay for a long conversation about this town. Not a press conference. Two people who chose the same place, talking about why.
Shay is a friend and I support him. I also asked him the questions people actually ask me about this town, including the hard one.
Updated August 2026. Gillette's 2026 mayoral race is between Shay Lundvall and Billy Montgomery, with a primary on August 18 and a general election on November 3. Norberto Orellana withdrew in late June 2026.
The short version
Entry-level price point in Gillette runs roughly $300,000 to $400,000, and the mayor named low inventory as a real problem for first-time buyers.
BWXT has selected Pronghorn Industrial Park for a proposed $500 million nuclear fuel manufacturing facility, backed by a $100 million state grant.
The facility would manufacture TRISO fuel, not store spent fuel. Storing high-level waste is currently illegal under Wyoming statute.
FBI data puts Gillette's total crime rate below the national rate, though above the Wyoming state average.
Shay's answer on what outsiders miss: the culture, and the fact that the Gillette of the 1970s is not the Gillette of today.
What is it actually like living in Gillette, Wyoming?
Living in Gillette means a working town of about 34,000 with a real downtown, an unusually large recreation center, a community college, a hospital, and an economy that has been dominated by coal, oil, and gas for fifty years and is now trying to add a fourth leg.
Shay put it in terms of the pie. The way he described it, diversifying that pie only happens when you go out and get it, because it never arrives on its own. That framing explains most of what has happened here in the last three years.
What struck me watching him answer is that he did not sell it. He talked about growing pains, about the next one to three years being rough, and about people who move here and immediately try to change it. His advice to newcomers was to integrate rather than arrive with a list of complaints.
What do people miss about Gillette when they only drive through?
They miss the culture, and they carry a version of Gillette that stopped being accurate decades ago. I put that question to him at 9:26 in the video. Shay said the most common thing he hears is some form of this is how Gillette used to be in the seventies, dirt roads and rough edges, from people who have not been back.
I get the same thing in my business. People ask whether the crime rate is high here. It is a fair question and it deserves a real answer rather than a defensive one, which is the next section.
The second thing people miss is that this is not a closed small town. Because of mining, oil and gas, and healthcare, people move in and out of Gillette constantly. There are families here two years and families here forty years, and the two-year family does not get treated like a visitor. I have watched that be true for twelve years of showing houses to people who knew nobody when they landed.
Is Gillette, Wyoming a safe place to raise a family?
By the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data, Gillette's total crime rate runs below the national rate, with violent crime well below it, while sitting above the Wyoming statewide average. Wyoming as a whole is a low-crime state, so being above the state average and below the national one are both true at the same time.
SafeWise reported Gillette's crime rates declining for a second consecutive year in its 2026 review.
That is the honest version. It is safer than most of the country and not the safest town in a very safe state. In practice, what buyers tell me matters more than the ranking: kids ride bikes, plenty of people still do not lock their doors, and the schools and the recreation center are the two things relocating families ask about first.
What is BWXT building in Gillette, and will nuclear waste be stored here?
BWXT is proposing a $500 million facility to manufacture TRISO nuclear fuel at Pronghorn Industrial Park, east of Cam-Plex, backed by a $100 million state grant. The company has stated repeatedly that the facility will not produce, receive, or store high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel. Operations are targeted for late 2030, with full production around 2031.
This is the single most misunderstood thing in Campbell County right now, and I asked Shay to say it plainly for anyone who has only heard the word nuclear. That exchange starts at 22:27 in the video, and he closes the loop at 26:59.
His explanation, in his own words: storing spent fuel is illegal in Wyoming as the statute currently stands, and only the legislature can change that. Uranium is mined, converted, enriched elsewhere, then shipped here to be turned into fuel, then shipped out to reactors. He compared it to coal. It gets brought in, processed, and sent to the customer. What stays behind is low-level waste, the category that hospitals, oil and gas operations, and the mines already generate.
He was also careful to say he is not an expert, and I am including that here because he said it on camera and it was the right thing to say.
Why was the mayor accused of closed-door deals?
Because BWXT required a non-disclosure agreement covering its proprietary processes once the negotiation got serious, and to the public that looked like secret meetings. In August 2025, a state senator publicly accused the council of closed-door nuclear dealings.
I asked him about it directly at 27:40 in the video. He did not dodge it, and two details from his answer were new to me.
First, he did not sign the NDA himself. The city attorney and the city administrator did. Second, Gillette was not the only candidate. To qualify for a federal 48C tax credit, BWXT had to evaluate two energy communities, and in Wyoming that came down to Sheridan and Gillette. He was competing against Sheridan and had no guarantee the company would land here.
His reasoning for staying quiet was that announcing something this size before it was certain would have left egg on the community's face if it fell through. He also owned the communication failure rather than defending it, which I think is the more useful part of the answer.
You can decide for yourself whether that satisfies you. That is why I asked it on camera instead of paraphrasing it here.
What does Gillette's growth mean for home buyers and sellers?
It means demand pressure is arriving before inventory does, which historically favors sellers and squeezes first-time buyers. Shay named the problem himself at 37:30 in the video: inventory is very low, and the price point sits in the $300,000 to $400,000 range, which is difficult for entry-level buyers who may not qualify at that number.
He also described the piece people rarely connect to housing. A friend's son finished training as a nuclear engineer and now has a path to come home and work here instead of relocating across the country. Multiply that by a few hundred households and you have a housing demand story, not just a jobs story.
If you are buying here: move faster than feels comfortable on anything well-priced under $350,000, and get fully underwritten before you shop rather than pre-qualified. In this inventory environment, a clean file is worth more than a slightly higher offer.
If you are selling here: the growth narrative is real, but it does not price your specific house. Condition and pricing still decide your outcome. I have seen sellers hold out for a number the comps did not support and lose sixty days doing it.
If you are relocating: rent nothing sight-unseen and do not assume the Gillette you find online is current. Come walk it.
This is general information, not financial or legal advice. Talk to a lender and, where appropriate, an attorney about your specific situation.
How does Gillette compare with Sheridan, Newcastle, and Pine Haven?
Gillette is the largest and most economically diverse of the four, which is why it is usually the anchor of a Northeast Wyoming home search. Here is how buyers I work with actually sort them.
Gillette (Campbell County): The most inventory, the most employment, the most amenities, and the most price movement. If you need a job attached to your move, you start here.
Sheridan: More scenic, more established, generally higher price per square foot, and a different feel. It was also the other Wyoming city BWXT weighed, which tells you something about its workforce.
Newcastle (Weston County): Smaller, quieter, lower price points. A real option for buyers who want acreage and do not need to be near a large employer.
Pine Haven (Crook County): Lake-adjacent and recreation-driven. It draws second homes and retirees more than it draws commuters.
What I have seen in this market myself
Relocation buyers consistently underestimate Gillette and consistently overestimate how long they will have to decide. That is the pattern I have watched repeat since 2014.
I have sold real estate here through the downturns and the upswings, and the mistake is almost never buying the wrong house. It is waiting a week on the right one. When Shay talks about opportunity passing you by while you are still running the numbers, that is not a political line. That is exactly what happens in this market at the entry level.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gillette, Wyoming a good place to live? Yes, for people who want a working town with real amenities and low cost of living relative to most of the country. Gillette has a hospital, a community college, an unusually large recreation center, and about 34,000 residents. It is not scenic in the way Jackson or Sheridan are, and people who move here for scenery tend to be disappointed.
How much does a house cost in Gillette, Wyoming? Entry-level homes generally run in the $300,000 to $400,000 range, a figure Mayor Lundvall cited on camera, with inventory running very low. Prices vary widely by neighborhood, age, and acreage, so treat that range as a starting point rather than a quote.
Is BWXT storing nuclear waste in Gillette? No. The proposed facility would manufacture TRISO nuclear fuel and ship it to reactors elsewhere. BWXT has stated it will not produce, receive, or store high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel, and storing spent fuel is currently prohibited under Wyoming statute.
Where will the BWXT facility be built? BWXT has selected Pronghorn Industrial Park, east of Cam-Plex, as its preferred site. Earlier reporting referenced Cam-Plex itself, which is no longer accurate.
When is the Gillette mayoral election? Gillette's 2026 mayoral race has a primary on August 18, 2026 and a general election on November 3, 2026. Shay Lundvall and Billy Montgomery are the two candidates on the ballot. Norberto Orellana withdrew in late June 2026.
Is Gillette, Wyoming growing? Gillette is actively pursuing growth through economic diversification, including the proposed BWXT nuclear fuel facility and the Wyoming Innovation Center. Whether population follows at scale depends on how many of those projects reach production.
What is there to do in Gillette, Wyoming? The Campbell County Recreation Center is the anchor and is larger than most towns this size support. Cam-Plex hosts events on roughly 1,000 acres, downtown has been substantially renovated over the past five years, and Devils Tower is about an hour away.
Should I buy in Gillette now or wait? That depends on your financing and your timeline, not on the market narrative. Buyers who need entry-level inventory generally do better acting on a well-priced listing than waiting for more supply, because supply here has been tight for several years. Talk to a lender first so you know what you actually qualify for.
About the author
Jessica "Jess" LaCour is Broker/Owner of 411 Properties LLC in Gillette, Wyoming, serving Campbell, Crook, Weston, and Sheridan counties. She has been the #1 active producing broker in Northeast Wyoming since 2019, with $764M+ in sales since 2014 and 1,500+ families helped.
RealTrends Verified 2026 ranked her #1 in Gillette and Northeast Wyoming and #9 in Wyoming by sales volume, with 113 transactions, the most of anyone in the state's top ten. She holds the CRS and RENE designations, has won the RateMyAgent Wyoming State Award every year from 2022 through 2026, and holds 356 verified client reviews at a 5.0 average, ranked #6 in the United States.
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