North Dakota cities

The best places to live in North Dakota

North Dakota's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. West Fargo leads the list.

We scored North Dakota's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 9 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#CityMedian homeRentValueOverall
1 West Fargo $255,300 $963 100 84
2 Bismarck $254,400 $904 50 65
3 Dickinson $236,000 $904 49 64
4 Mandan $217,800 $924 71 58
5 Minot $217,500 $893 54 46
6 Jamestown $164,100 $717 38 35
7 Williston $220,500 $994 53 35
8 Fargo $232,900 $841 19 32
9 Grand Forks $215,900 $850 17 32

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within North Dakota. Updated 2026.