22 Plates: A Teton County Symbol for Localism originally appeared in the 2023 Best of Jackson Hole Guide Book.
Over the years, Teton County folk have established their own method to distinguish the “local” population from the rest of its residents. The easiest way to recognize someone’s tenure in the valley isn’t through a spoken local lingo or a long list of mountaineering feats, but rather, the digits on the bumper of their car.
That’s right, Jackson Hole has one way to judge a book by its cover—your license plate number.
Since the establishment of license plates in Teton County, the Wyoming Department of Transportation has numbered its license plates in chronological order. Wyoming plate designs go through an eight-year cycle. The year 2017 was the first year in the eight-year run of the current Green River Lake plate series. In 2025, the design will once again be refreshed to don Wyoming’s state flag. Regardless of the design, Teton County Treasurer, Katie Smits explained that the owner of any license plate numbered below 10,000, gets to keep those digits for life. Some people are pretty serious about keeping a low digit plate in their own possession or that of their family. Smits says her office has vaults that contain written wills that include the designation of an individual’s plate number to someone else after they pass on.
“Low license plate numbers are beloved,” Smits says.
When plate designs get renewed every eight years, those who own a plate numbering above 10,000 will receive an updated number anywhere from 10,000 and up.
To put it more simply, if you were here from the start, you’ve got a plate to prove it.
Descendants of Jackson’s historic families; the Meads, Gills, Lockharts, Van Vlecks and Wastabaughs possess some of the lowest-numbered plates around the valley.
Due to the fact that Jackson’s first families, the old ranching community and the original ski bums of the valley flaunt those low-numbered plates, it has become a symbolic token of “true” local identity.
That being said, you don’t have to hop in a time machine and become an early homesteader to get your hands on a low plate number.
The Teton County Administration Office says that as long as a plate is expired or the buyer has permission from the owner, it can be gifted to another resident. The transaction is not a complicated process; you just need a slip of paper signed by a license plate benefactor and boom, local status is granted.
Today, license plate numbers have reached the mid-40,000s with the most recently issued plates in the 45,000s. Teton County’s University of Wyoming plates are separate from the counting system used on regular cars, SUVs and sedans. Trucks are also on a separate count.
Teton County plates also serve as an indicator of just how much the valley has grown in the last 30 years.
From 1990 to 2021, Jackson’s population nearly doubled. According to U.S. Census data, the valley grew from around 5,000 residents to nearly 11,000. While Census data aims for accuracy, those numbers likely do not include the thousands of seasonal workers that flow in and out of town throughout the winter and summer months. Regardless, Teton County’s plates reflect the significant population growth that has taken place in recent decades. More plates were issued from 2010 to 2022 than in all the previous years combined. Needless to say, the county’s vehicle registration records are one of the clearest indicators of population growth in Jackson Hole that first began in the latter half of the 20th century.
As insignificant as a license plate number may be in most other places, the 22 plates are representative of the changing demographic landscape of modern-day Jackson Hole.
Today, Jackson is a melting pot of old ranchers and business owners, remote workers seeking an improved work-life balance, seasonal ski bums in search of powder, raft guides, adrenaline junkies and just about everything in between. In the 21st century, Jackson has been subject to a lot of change. But in the end, the large majority of residents are here for the same reason—a love for this place and for its people.
