Wyoming

Buying Land in Washakie County, Wyoming

Washakie County, in Wyoming's Bighorn Basin, appears to be one of the state's genuinely unzoned counties -- its own land-use regulation is limited to subdivision review and septic permitting, not a zoning code. Here's what that means for a buyer, and the real Hanover Canal-irrigated farm economy that defines the county's best land.

County Zoning

Could not confirm

We could not find a Washakie County zoning ordinance, zoning map, or zoning-district document anywhere in public sources, and several independent signals (the county's own 2023 regulation being titled subdivision-only, its board being called a "Planning Commission" rather than "Planning and Zoning Commission," and a secondary source listing it among Wyoming's unzoned counties) point to Washakie having no zoning at all -- but confirm this directly with the County Planner before relying on it.

Subdivision Regulation

Case-by-case / verify locally

Washakie County adopted updated Subdivision and Development Regulations (Resolution 2023-398), effective January 1, 2024 -- land divisions still go through county review even though there is no separate zoning code layered on top.

Building Code

Could not confirm

We found no evidence of a countywide building code for unincorporated Washakie County. If a building-code question matters for a specific project, confirm directly with the County Planner rather than assuming either that one exists or that none does.

Septic

Generally favorable

Washakie is not one of the counties where Wyoming DEQ permits septic directly -- Washakie County Public Health's Environmental Health program handles septic locally.

Irrigated Farmland

Generally favorable

The Hanover Canal system, built starting in 1902, irrigates roughly 35,000 acres along the Bighorn River and remains the backbone of the county's real agricultural land value -- a different market from the surrounding high-desert Bighorn Basin rangeland.

Washakie County's own land-use footprint: subdivision review and septic, not zoning

Based on our research, Washakie County does not appear to have adopted a zoning ordinance for the unincorporated county -- we could not locate a zoning map, a list of zoning districts, or a zoning resolution anywhere in county or public records, despite finding exactly those documents readily for several neighboring counties. The county's own most recent land-use action, Resolution 2023-398, updated its Subdivision and Development Regulations (effective January 1, 2024) -- a subdivision code, not a zoning code. The county's review board is also named the Washakie County Planning Commission, rather than a "Planning and Zoning Commission" as several neighboring counties call theirs -- a small but consistent signal pointing the same direction.

Practically, this means a buyer in unincorporated Washakie County faces a lighter local land-use bureaucracy than in a zoned county: there's no zoning permit to pull before building, and no zoning district limiting what use a parcel can be put to. It also means fewer guardrails -- with no zoning, there's generally nothing at the county level to stop a neighboring parcel from being put to an incompatible use. Land divisions still go through the county's subdivision review process, and Wyoming's state-level 35-acre subdivision exemption (covered on the Wyoming state hub) still applies as the baseline framework either way. We found no evidence of a countywide building code either, though this is worth confirming directly for any specific construction project.

The real story here is Hanover Canal-irrigated farmland, not raw rangeland

Large-scale farming was not possible in Washakie County until the Hanover Canal, surveyed starting in 1903 and built by crews working with hand tools and horses, brought Bighorn River water to fertile but naturally dry ground. The canal system still operates today, irrigating roughly 35,000 acres and supporting the crops that have defined the county's agriculture ever since -- sugar beets, dry beans, barley, corn, and alfalfa. The Wyoming Sugar Company's factory in Worland (originally built by Holly Sugar in 1917, and reorganized as a grower-owned cooperative in 2002 after Holly announced its closure) still processes sugar beets for growers across the Bighorn Basin and into Fremont County, and remains a real economic anchor.

For a land buyer, this means Washakie County's real agricultural value is concentrated in Hanover Canal-irrigated ground along the Bighorn River corridor, where water rights and canal-district membership matter enormously -- a very different proposition from the surrounding high-desert Bighorn Basin rangeland, where carrying capacity and grazing access, not irrigation, drive the land's use and value.

What we could and couldn't confirm

The "no zoning" determination for Washakie County is an inference from converging indirect evidence -- the absence of any locatable zoning ordinance, map, or district document; the county's own recent land-use resolution being titled "Subdivision and Development Regulations" rather than a zoning resolution; its board being named a "Planning Commission" without "Zoning" in the title (unlike several neighboring counties); and a secondary tiny-home-regulation website listing Washakie among Wyoming's unzoned counties -- rather than a directly located, authoritative zoning ordinance confirming its absence. This is a meaningfully weaker basis than a jurisdiction that explicitly states it has no zoning, so confirm current status directly with the Washakie County Planner's office before relying on it for a specific transaction.

Verify directly with: the Washakie County Planner's office directly for current zoning and subdivision status, and Washakie County Public Health for septic permitting

Who to Call Before Buying Land in Washakie County

We could not verify a Washakie County zoning office or zoning ordinance, and did not include a planning_zoning contact for that reason -- see the zoning-status discussion above and in the methodology note. We were also unable to confirm a current phone number for the Washakie County Clerk's recorder-of-deeds function specifically (as opposed to the separate Clerk of District Court) from public sources, so no recorder_clerk contact is listed here; confirm directly with the county.

Subdivision & Land Development

Washakie County Planning Commission (County Planner)

Land-division/subdivision review under Resolution 2023-398, and confirmation of whether any zoning or building-code requirement applies to a specific project.

Phone: (307) 347-6778Official website →

Septic / Onsite Wastewater

Washakie County Public Health -- Environmental Health

Septic system permitting -- Washakie is not a Wyoming DEQ-direct county, so this county office (not DEQ) is the permitting authority.

Phone: (307) 347-3278Email: phnworland@wyo.govOfficial website →

Assessor / Property Tax

Washakie County Assessor

Current assessed value and property tax questions for a specific parcel.

Phone: (307) 347-2831Email: assessor@washakiecountywy.govOfficial website →

Agricultural Extension

University of Wyoming Extension -- Washakie County

Irrigation, canal-district, and farm-management questions specific to the Hanover Canal-irrigated area.

Phone: (307) 347-3431Official website →

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Sources

Planner — Washakie County, Wyoming Government (accessed 2026-09)
Public Health — Washakie County, Wyoming Government (accessed 2026-09)
Washakie County, Wyoming — WyoHistory.org (Wyoming State Historical Society) (accessed 2026-09)
History — Wyoming Sugar Company (accessed 2026-09)
Hanover-Bluff Unit — U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (accessed 2026-09)
Tiny Home Regulations In Wyoming: The Complete Guide — Zook Cabins (accessed 2026-09)

Last reviewed 2026-09