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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Families relocating within North Dakota face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. We ran the numbers on 1 cities. Fargo — index 92, rent $1,096/mo, healthcare index 95 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model.
#1 Ranked: Fargo — cost index 92, rent $1,096/mo, income $66,029
Family-weighted scoring: income $66,029, healthcare index 95, population 133,188 — balancing career, care, and schools
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Families relocating within North Dakota face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. We ran the numbers on 1 cities. Fargo — index 92, rent $1,096/mo, healthcare index 95 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model.
The #1 spot goes to Fargo, and the breakdown explains why. And broadly, renters here pay $1,096/month — saving renters $9,588 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 80, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 95. At a 20% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
And here's what ties it all together: Across North Dakota, the average cost of living index is 92 — 20 points below the national median. And with some exceptions, known for oil-patch wages in a low-cost market, the state offers 1 tracked cities with median rents averaging $1,096/month. That's $799 less than the national average of $1,895. Over thirty years of homeownership, the property tax savings alone are staggering.
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 (that's pre-tax, of course).
133,188 residents · North Dakota
What does daily life actually cost in Fargo? Start with the 20% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. On the category level, Housing (index 80) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 95) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $66,029 and homes at $312,872 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to families. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. 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 92 and median income of $66,029.
Fargo scores highest for families due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,096/mo, and competitive 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.