Bar Nunn boasts growth, affordable living, study says

Kristen Smith leaned against the late April wind and looked out on Casper Mountain in the distance. The grass beneath her feet was already green from recent spring storms.

Inside the model home, her boyfriend, Ben Marquez, smiled and watched.

Im going to be the first in my family to own a new (home), Marquez said.

Marquez and Smith knew they wanted to build their own home. They looked in Casper, where they hold down three jobs between them, but quickly realized it was well out of their price range.

They thought they could settle for buying a used home, but still couldn't make it work.

Finally, they turned to Bar Nunn.

"It's definitely cheaper than Casper," Marquez said.

Bar Nunn is the best place in Wyoming for homeownership, according to a recent study conducted by consumer advocacy group NerdWallet.

The study factored in the ownership rate, monthly costs and income, home value and population growth from 2010 to 2012 -- all culled from the latest American Community Survey --in drawing its conclusions.

The homeownership rate in Bar Nunn is 93 percent, according to the study, and those homeowners are only committing 22 percent of their monthly income to housing costs. That is well under a federal recommendation that cites 30 percent as the most a person should be paying for a home before the cost is considered a burden.

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Bar Nunn boasts growth, affordable living, study says