Employee Benefits in Sheridan and Buffalo, Wyoming
Sheridan · Buffalo · Ranchester · Dayton — and the rest of Sheridan and Johnson Counties.
Group health and employee benefits for employers across Sheridan and Johnson counties. Multiple carriers compared, networks checked against the hospitals your people actually use, and one named team that stays with you through the year.
Compensation varies by carrier and placement structure; any client-paid broker or service fee is disclosed before you move forward.
Benefits built around Sheridan and Johnson counties
Sheridan County added jobs faster than almost anywhere in Wyoming last year, and Johnson County counts its economy in acres as much as in payroll. Two counties, two shapes. This is the local ground we cover before either one goes out for quote.
Construction is where Sheridan County grew
Sheridan County carried 14,881 covered jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025, up 380 on the year — one of only seven Wyoming counties that added employment. Construction led it, rising to 1,746 from 1,425, a gain of 320 jobs or 22.5%. Construction of buildings alone added 191 jobs, up 39.6%, and specialty trade contractors added 93.
Retail holds 1,790, private health care and social assistance 1,403, accommodation and food service 1,321, manufacturing 952 and professional and technical services 819 at $1,938 a week. The county’s average covered wage rose $103 to $1,246. A payroll that adds field crews at that rate is a payroll where waiting periods, measurement periods and the full-time definition matter, so we set the eligibility rules against your actual hiring pattern.
Two hospitals and a VA campus
Sheridan Memorial Hospital is an 88-bed county hospital that the Wyoming Department of Health designates an Area Trauma Hospital at full status, and the hospital says more than 700 people work there. Its service lines include the Welch Cancer Center, the Spine Center of the Bighorns, cardiology, orthopedics, the Watt Dialysis Center, behavioral health and the Sheridan Green House long-term care community. The Sheridan County Commission approved an affiliation and services agreement with Billings Clinic on March 3, 2026, and a Wyoming nonprofit corporation named Sheridan Health was formed to carry it.
The Sheridan VA Medical Center has operated on a 298-acre campus on Fort Road since April 1922, anchors VA care at nine Wyoming locations, and serves more than 12,500 Veterans a year; federal hospital employment in the county ran 664 covered jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025. In Buffalo, Johnson County Healthcare Center is a 25-bed critical access hospital with the 44-bed Amie Holt Care Center on the same campus and a clinic in Kaycee two days a week. Three very different systems, and we verify each one against a plan before recommending it.
Sheridan builds things
Weatherby moved its headquarters and manufacturing to Yellowtail Drive in Sheridan; the Wyoming Business Council said at the time the move was expected to create 70 to 90 jobs and more than $5 million annually in payroll within five years, into a 100,000 square-foot building leased on a 20-year term. Vacutech, on Hi Tech Drive, says it employs nearly 200 teammates. Kennon Products has been in Sheridan since 1989, is employee-owned through an ESOP, and moved into a 40,000 square-foot facility in July 2021.
EMIT Technologies runs more than 170,000 square feet of manufacturing space across two facilities on North Main, and L&H Industrial keeps a 33,000 square-foot machining and repair shop on Commercial Avenue. Sheridan College and its Johnson County campus in Buffalo reported 3,543 credit students and 305 staff in fall 2024, and the college’s machine tool program was named by Weatherby as a deciding factor in the move. That base puts skilled hourly and salaried employees on the same census, and plan design follows the census.
Johnson County counts differently
Johnson County carried 3,312 covered jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025. On the private side, accommodation and food service leads at 349, then retail at 309, construction at 245 and mining at 199 at $1,959 a week. Local government adds 779 and the county’s average covered wage was $1,107.
Covered payroll only tells part of the story here. The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 402 farms in Johnson County working 2,034,098 acres — an average of 5,060 acres each — with 797 producers, 95% of farms family-owned and $54.8 million in products sold, 88% of it livestock. Add the summer calendar, with the Sheridan WYO Rodeo running July 6 to 12 in 2026, Longmire Days in Buffalo July 16 to 19, and Bighorn National Forest campgrounds generally opening late May into June, and you have two counties that need different plan shapes. We build each one on its own numbers.
Sheridan · Buffalo · Ranchester · Dayton · Big Horn · Story · Clearmont · Kaycee
Sources: Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, fourth quarter 2025, Tables 21 and 14 — Sheridan and Johnson counties; Wyoming Department of Health trauma center designations; Sheridan Memorial Hospital; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Sheridan VA Medical Center; Johnson County Healthcare Center 2026 Community Health Needs Assessment; Wyoming Business Council; Vacutech; Kennon Products; EMIT Technologies; L&H Industrial; Northern Wyoming Community College District student characteristics 2024-25; USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture, Johnson County profile; Sheridan WYO Rodeo; Longmire Days; USDA Forest Service, Bighorn National Forest — all read September 6 and 7, 2026.
If no one owns the benefits work,
it becomes your work.
No clear owner equals more work for you.
Illustrative estimate only. Actual time varies by employer size, plan complexity, carrier activity, renewal timing, service usage, and internal responsibilities. Not a quote, savings claim, rebate, compliance guarantee, or legal advice.
9-Step Path
See where you stand and where you’re going.
- 1Needs AnalysisWe review your current setup, business priorities, renewal timing, and benefits goals.
- 2Sourcing OptionsWe review available carrier and plan paths to identify the options worth a closer look.
- 33–5 Year Benefits RoadmapWe build a clear direction for where your benefits program can go next.
A clear view of your current benefits setup, key priorities, and a practical 3–5 year direction.
Build it and get it live.
- 4Discovery ReviewWe walk through the findings, options, tradeoffs, and recommended next step.
- 5Onboarding & ImplementationWe coordinate setup details, carrier requirements, and implementation steps.
- 6Strategic Plan FulfillmentWe support communications, deadlines, and plan rollout so the process keeps moving.
A selected benefits path, organized implementation steps, and clearer plan education for your team.
Year-round advocacy and next-year prep.
- 7Benefits UtilizationWe help your team understand how to use the benefits program more effectively.
- 8Year-Round AdvocacyWe help handle questions, changes, service issues, and next-step guidance throughout the year.
- 9Renewal Analysis — 90 Days OutWe begin renewal review early so decisions are not forced at the last minute.
Year-round support, cleaner records, and renewal prep started before deadline pressure builds.
One kickoff call. Clear deliverables.
One kickoff call. Clear deliverables.
Independent Agent — Multiple Carriers
Independent Wyoming insurance brokerage · Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Membership Committee · Government Committee · SHRM member
More Options
Access to multiple carriers means more plan designs and network choices.
Unbiased Guidance
How we’re paid is disclosed in writing up front — recommendations are based on fit.
Ongoing Support
Year-round service and renewal strategy — not just during open enrollment.
