Some of what Wamsutter lacks in the way of attractiveness comes naturally to Pinedale, with its mountains and abundant recreational opportunities.

Jeffrey Jacquet, socioeconomic analyst for Sublette County, said the number of nonresident workers floats due to the rotational nature of the work.

"So if you count all the different individuals you get one number, but if you just count the people who are here at a given time, you get a number that's more like half that," he said.

He estimates there are about 3,000 people working in the gas fields, of which 1,500 or 2,000 are in the county at any time.

The workers come from all over the United States and Canada. "You're going to see license plates from just about everywhere," he said.

In a housing study, Jacquet found that nearly half of the 212 nonresident natural gas workers contacted said they wanted to move to the area.

But Jacquet said the study included only a handful of roughnecks working on drilling rigs, and the proportion of workers who are serious about moving likely is much less than the survey suggests.

"I think it's a small percentage," he said. "If the circumstances were different, if housing were cheaper, not only cheaper but easier to come by where you don't have to fight tooth and nail with everyone else who might be bidding on a house, if circumstances were better, I think the numbers would increase. But probably less than one in four nonresidents really does want to move."

Fifteen percent of the workers surveyed said they already were planning to move, but "probably a good percentage of those guys won't (move) either," he said.

Jacquet pointed out that many nonresident energy workers have homes and family ties elsewhere and are accustomed to following their jobs to far-flung locations.

"They've been working these schedules their whole career, and they keep moving to difference places, so why pick up and move?" he said.

On the other hand, if only a fraction of the total settle permanently in Sublette County, their impact would still be substantial, given the county's small population base.

In the past, Sublette County grew at a rate of about 24 percent every 10 years. It's now on track for growth of over 40 percent.

"You're still going to end up with a lot more people than you had to begin with," Jacquet said.