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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The numbers are clear: 1 of 1 cities in North Dakota beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 111. Fargo stands out at 64 on the index, with rent of $1,096/month and household income of $66,029. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
#1 Ranked: Fargo — cost index 64, rent $1,096/mo, income $66,029
1 of 1 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
The numbers are clear: 1 of 1 cities in North Dakota beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 111. Fargo stands out at 64 on the index, with rent of $1,096/month and household income of $66,029. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
Dive into Fargo's numbers: cost index 64 (47 points below national average), rent $1,096/month, income $66,029, and a home price of $312,872. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 64, while Healthcare runs 93. With 133,188 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
133,188 residents · North Dakota
A closer look at Fargo: the cost index of 64 breaks down to a Housing index of 64 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 93 (weakest). Median rent is $1,096/month — 42% below the national median — while household income sits at $66,029, meaning locals spend about 20% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
Cities are ranked by median 1-bedroom rent in ascending order using Zillow's Observed Rent Index (ZORI). We include all tracked cities in North Dakota with verified rent data, giving you a complete picture of the rental landscape from cheapest to most expensive. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Fargo ranks #1 in North Dakota for this analysis with a cost index of 64 and median income of $66,029.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Fargo is $1,096/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $799 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Fargo is $312,872, which is 4.7× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
North Dakota has a 1.95% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.04%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.94%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.