TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. — A recent fiscal impact study shows that Teton Village makes a substantial contribution towards the Teton County and Wyoming economy, generating more than $8 million to County and Town budgets annually.

The Teton Village Association (TVA) commissioned this study to address the needs of the guests, residents, business owners and employees of Teton Village, including sustainable development, transportation and workforce housing. BBC Research and Consulting tracked Teton Village’s economic impact within the county’s overall fiscal health. 

According to a TVA press release, Teton Village is a highly productive source of county tax revenue due to its concentration of high value property, lodging sales and retail activity. The study outlines that Village guests, residents and second homeowners pay for the majority of local services via Teton Village’s overlay of self-funded taxing districts.

Residents of Teton Village pay 7.85 additional mills of property tax to fund their water and sewer, fire and improvement and service district. Commercial owners pay property assessments and an additional 2 percent resort district tax is levied on all sales in Teton Village to fund public infrastructure and transportation improvements.

“The current governance structure of Teton Village, utilizing five special districts, is particularly attractive for Teton County and the Town of Jackson because it does not dilute sales tax revenue that is distributed to towns and counties based on population,” the press release states.

The study also highlights the introduction of skiing in Teton County as a key element that allowed Jackson Hole to avoid the severe seasonality characteristic of other National Park gateway communities. Five percent of the state’s hotel bed base is in Teton Village, and Teton Village sales tax represented 3 percent of total Wyoming Sales & Use tax in 2019.

Some other key findings of the study that were highlighted in the TVA press release include:

  • Teton Village directly generates Teton County general fund revenues of nearly $4.4 million per year in support of county services, over $1.8 million of those net general fund receipts are in excess of county service costs
  • Teton Village directly generates $2 million in annual sales tax receipts that fund the Town of Jackson general fund
  • Teton Village generates 13 percent of all revenue collected per year to fund SPET projects – this was $1.9 million in fiscal year 2019.
  • The Shooting Star development at Teton Village imposes a supplemental one percent real estate transfer fee that must specifically fund START transit and pathways between Town and the Village; revenue from this transfer fee totals more than $5.4 million since 2007.
  • An additional one percent real estate transfer fee at Shooting Star that supports open space acquisition has generated more than $5.2 million for the Jackson Hole Land Trust

“As specifically identified in the Teton County/Jackson Master Plan, and reinforced with this current analysis, a well-functioning Teton Village is essential to the year-round environmental, social and fiscal health of the larger community,” the TVA press release confirms.