Tap & Air

Private wells

Wyoming well water: who's on a well and what to test for

An estimated 161,100 people in 78,500 homes, about 28.9% of Wyoming homes, above the national 14.6%. Estimates are from EPA's Water Source 2020 model.

People on private wells

161,100

Homes on wells

28.9%

Est. above arsenic limit

6,200

Every Wyoming county

Sorted by people on private wells. Arsenic and nitrate are modeled for typical wells in the county, not measured at yours; depth is the median of domestic well records.

Laramie County20,50018%4.1%1.3325 ft
Sweetwater County20,10050%11.0%0.2120 ft
Fremont County16,00041%8.9%0.3120 ft
Park County14,90049%6.6%1.160 ft
Campbell County8,90019%3.9%0.1305 ft
Lincoln County8,80042%3.7%0.4115 ft
Sheridan County8,20027%4.8%0.3135 ft
Teton County7,80039%3.9%0.275 ft
Natrona County7,20010%4.3%0.564 ft
Big Horn County5,60052%5.9%0.640 ft
Sublette County5,10062%7.3%0.1132 ft
Albany County4,90016%3.0%0.3110 ft
Goshen County4,60038%5.5%3.9120 ft
Uinta County4,50022%9.9%0.265 ft
Crook County4,40061%3.3%0.3180 ft
Converse County4,00030%5.0%0.3160 ft
Johnson County3,70047%4.7%0.2206 ft
Platte County3,00035%4.0%1.1170 ft
Washakie County2,40030%5.4%0.346 ft
Carbon County2,30019%3.6%0.295 ft
Weston County2,00031%4.0%0.3160 ft
Hot Springs County1,30026%5.2%0.160 ft
Niobrara County82036%4.1%0.7140 ft

Shading: red is among the highest counties nationally, amber the middle, green the lower range. Click a column to sort.

Most well users above the arsenic limit

Highest modeled nitrate

Test first, then treat what the test finds

We may earn a commission from links below, at no cost to you. Picks follow the testing order, not who pays. How we make money.

1. Certified lab well test

Start here, every year

A mail-in kit analyzed by a certified lab measures bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, metals and more. Test strips cannot measure arsenic or uranium reliably.

Mail-in certified lab well water test

Mid-range
See today's price on Amazon

2. Sediment pre-filter

Sand, silt or cloudy water

A 5-micron cartridge after the pressure tank catches sand, silt and rust before they reach fixtures or other filters. Cartridges are cheap and swap every few months.

5-micron whole-house sediment filter

Budget
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3. Iron and sulfur filter

Orange stains or rotten-egg smell

Air-injection or oxidizing-media filters remove orange staining and rotten-egg smell. Size one from a lab result for iron, manganese and hydrogen sulfide.

Air-injection iron and sulfur filter

Premium
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4. UV disinfection system

Coliform bacteria in a test

Inactivates bacteria and viruses; usually for private wells or after boil notices.

12 GPM whole-house UV purifier

Premium
See today's price on Amazon

5. Under-sink reverse osmosis

Arsenic, nitrate or uranium in a test

The most thorough option for drinking water: PFAS, lead, nitrate, arsenic and more. Look for NSF/ANSI 58.

Waterdrop G3P600 tankless RO

$539.00
Buy at Waterdrop

Price at Waterdrop, checked Oct 5, 2026or compare on Amazon

iSpring RCC7AK reverse osmosis

Mid-range
See today's price on Amazon

6. Whole-house well filter

Several problems at once

Multi-stage sediment and carbon for every tap. Add UV if bacteria shows up, and choose stages from your lab results, not a guess.

Waterdrop WHF21 2-stage whole-house filter

Mid-range
See today's price on Amazon
Get free well water treatment quotes

Questions

Which Wyoming counties rely most on wells?+

By share of homes: Sublette County (62%), Crook County (61%), Big Horn County (52%), Sweetwater County (50%), Park County (49%). By number of people: Laramie County (20,500), Sweetwater County (20,100), Fremont County (16,000).

Is arsenic a problem in Wyoming wells?+

USGS estimates about 6,200 Wyoming well users have water above the 10 microgram per liter arsenic limit that applies to public systems, the largest numbers in Laramie County, Fremont County, Sublette County. Arsenic has no taste or smell, so only a lab test finds it.

Do I have to test my well when I sell a house in Wyoming?+

We could not confirm a statewide rule for Wyoming. Check with your county health department. Buyers can still make a lab test a condition of the offer.

How often should I test my well?+

No federal law covers private wells. EPA's drinking water limits apply to public water systems, so testing and treating a private well is up to the owner. EPA and CDC recommend testing at least once a year for coliform bacteria, nitrate, pH and total dissolved solids, and testing for arsenic, uranium, radon and other local concerns based on where you live.

Well-user counts, arsenic and nitrate figures are each a modeled estimate built from national datasets, not a count of tested wells, and well depths summarize drilling records rather than every well. Your own well can be very different from the county average, which is why the only answer for your home is a lab test. Sources: EPA Office of Research and Development, Water Source 2020 (private well estimates by census block); CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking, Well Water Index (from USGS nitrate and arsenic models); USGS, county-level domestic well population with arsenic above 10 micrograms per liter (Ayotte and others, 2017); USGS Synthesized Domestic Well Database for the Conterminous United States (SynDWell-US), McCarthy and others, 2025 (depth, where a county has 30+ usable records).