If you’ve ever visited Wyoming or live in the state, then you’ll realize just how empty it is. In fact, it’s literally the lowest-populated state in the US. Not only this but it’s fairly large in terms of its geographic size as well.

However, you probably didn’t know it was this empty which is shown by a recent map. Here, it shows the various US cities with a population larger than Wyoming – despite many of them being under a tenth of the size of the state. Obviously, places like New York City are on the map – but there’s a surprising number of less known cities too with a population above 576,000.

So, why is Wyoming so sparsely populated? According to Google, it’s due to its harshly cold winters, dry summers, and lack of rivers and rainfall. This means when the US population began to boom, it didn’t really appeal to early settlers – which is basically the opposite reason as to why people often settle on the coastal areas.

Having said that, there are some benefits of living here. It turns out that Wyoming has some of the best tax deals in the US, and it also has some pretty scenic views. In recent times, these views captured the likes of Kanye West’s imagination who even purchased a ranch out here to live in. It’s not just Kanye either, over the past 10 years, the state has grown by 2.3% – so perhaps it won’t be so sparse for much longer.