There’s An Easy Trick To Tell Where You Live In Wyoming?

If you're traveling around the state and don't want people to know where you're from, if you're driving a licensed vehicle in Wyoming you were busted as soon as they saw your plate. The state issued license plate is a dead giveaway of which Wyoming county you live in because of the numbers.

Standard License Plates

The Wyoming State License plate is issued and regulated by Wyoming Department of Transportation. Each standard issued state license plate has a series of numbers on them and by looking at those numbers, anyone can tell which county you're travelling from. I'm sure folks up in Teton County say quite a bit... "Oh look another one of those 16 license plates." If you're from Johnson County, you know that the Teton County people just dogged on you!

The History of Wyoming License Plate Numbering

The first time Wyoming used the county numbering system was back in 1930 and the counties have been labeled on the license plates ever since. When they first put the county numbers in 1930, the counties where ranked by land value. Natrona ranked #1 and Laramie #2 because of the amount of mineral resources. When you look at your plates, the first number on the left is the county your vehicle is registered in. This is helpful so the next time you get cut off in traffic, you'll know which county the jerk is from.

Color Scheme

Over the years the color, dating and layout have all changed. The county number has always been there since, but there is only one other item that has remained the same on every 'standard' Wyoming license plate since the mid 1930's...the bucking horse and rider. When I moved here, getting to have the bucking horse and rider on my plates was such an honor.

New Road Trip Game

The next time you're one a road trip, you have a new game to play. We all try to see how many state license plates we see, now you can see how many Wyoming county license plates you can find.

Rundown Of County Numbers

If you're wondering, here's the rundown from Wyoming Department of Transportation:

This video has a rundown of the Wyoming plates since 1975 so you can see the change.