Off-Grid Living in Teton County, Wyoming

Teton County is one of the few places in Wyoming that isn't a "do what you want on your own land" county, and if you're dreaming of buying raw acreage near Jackson and going off-grid quietly, I want to set expectations before you sink money into land.

Zoning is real here. Unlike most unzoned Wyoming counties, Teton County (working jointly with the Town of Jackson) has adopted full Land Development Regulations administered by the county's Planning Division. Land is divided into zone districts like Rural Residential and Rural Agriculture, each with its own allowed densities and uses. You can't just park on raw land and call it home; whatever you build has to fit the zone district your parcel sits in, so check with Planning before you buy.

Dwellings and RVs are restricted. The LDRs specifically prohibit living in a camper trailer or RV as a permanent residence, with a narrow exception while you're actively building under a valid permit. You can store a trailer on your land, but living in it full-time outside a licensed campground isn't allowed. I've seen claims online that the county follows the IRC's tiny-house appendix, but I couldn't confirm the specific dimensional standards on an official page, so treat those details as unconfirmed until the Building Division tells you otherwise.

Building permits are required and codes are enforced. Teton County has adopted its own version of the International Residential and Building Codes, with updates taking effect on a schedule the county sets, and even small structures under 500 square feet still go through permitting. Contractors doing permitted work need a license issued through the Town of Jackson. All of this runs through the county's online permit portal, per the Building Division.

Septic and composting toilets fall under a county-run program. Teton County has its own Small Wastewater Facility Regulations, administered by a county Sanitarian, built on top of (and no looser than) Wyoming DEQ's Chapter 25 standards. A permit is needed to install or replace a septic system. Self-contained composting or incinerating toilets skip the permit-to-construct step but still need a Certificate of Completion filed.

Greywater and rainwater aren't separately regulated by the county as far as I could find in official sources, so they default to the state's general DEQ wastewater-reuse framework, which is fairly permissive for typical household use. I'd still call the county Sanitarian to confirm nothing local has changed.

Wells run entirely through the state. Teton County doesn't issue its own well permits; you apply to the Wyoming State Engineer's Office in Cheyenne, and by state statute you can't start construction on a well before that permit is granted.

Utilities: nothing forces you onto the grid for a legal, permitted dwelling, but because RV/camp living is off the table outside a campground, off-grid here really means building a code-compliant house with solar, wind, or generator power, not squatting in a bare-bones camp.