Summary of Findings


Data from the 1992 Census of Retail Trade show that Wyoming's 3,748
retail stores with payroll had sales totaling $3.6 billion. In 1987,
3,726 retail stores had sales of $2.5 billion. The 1992 data represent
an increase of 40.9 percent in total retail sales for the State.

For establishments with payroll in 1992, sales of grocery stores
accounted for 18.7 percent of the State's total sales by retailers
compared with 21.0 percent in 1987. Other leading retail kinds of
business in 1992 were new and used car dealers with 17.5 percent of
sales, gasoline service stations with 13.9 percent, and department
stores (including leased departments) with 10.2 percent.

For 1992, sales for establishments with payroll in the State averaged
$948 thousand per establishment, compared with $677 thousand in 1987.
In 1992, department stores (including leased departments) averaged
$12.1 million per establishment; new and used car dealers, $7.4
million; grocery stores, $3.3 million; catalog and mail-order houses,
$2.5 million; and miscellaneous general merchandise stores, $1.7
million.

For retail establishments with payroll, 1992 sales per employee
averaged $95 thousand. New and used car dealers had sales per employee
of $316 thousand, which contrasts sharply with the $26 thousand per
employee average for restaurants.

The 1992 payroll of retailers in the State amounted to $413 million,
compared with $308 million for 1987. Payroll as a percent of sales of
establishments with payroll averaged 11.6 percent for all retailers,
28.4 percent for retail bakeries, compared with 6.3 percent for
gasoline service stations.

There were 37,323 paid employees (full- and part-time) engaged in
retail trade in the State as of mid-March 1992, compared with 33,263
employees in 1987. Large employers included restaurants with 6,490
employees, refreshment places with 5,868 employees, and grocery stores
with 5,147 employees.