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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Single-income living requires cities where one paycheck covers everything. We scored 1 cities across North Dakota on rent, cost of living, and population. Fargo ($1,096/mo, 133,188 residents) ranks #1.
#1 Ranked: Fargo — cost index 92, rent $1,096/mo, income $66,029
Singles scoring: rent $1,096/mo (solo housing), cost index 92, population 133,188 — livability on one income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Single-income living requires cities where one paycheck covers everything. We scored 1 cities across North Dakota on rent, cost of living, and population. Fargo ($1,096/mo, 133,188 residents) ranks #1.
Single-income living means absorbing 100% of housing costs. Our model weights rent under $1,300 (20pts), cost of living (15pts), and city population (10pts) — because a social scene matters when you're on your own. Fargo at $1,096/mo in a city of 133,188 hits the right balance.
Why Fargo ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. And on balance, at 92 on the cost index, residents save roughly 20% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,096/month while the median household pulls in $66,029/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 80, though Healthcare (95) lags behind. Home prices average $312,872 — $154,498 below the national median.
Bottom line: Fargo leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
133,188 residents · North Dakota
Real talk: Here's Fargo by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 92. Rent: $1,096/month. Income: $66,029/year. Home price: $312,872. Population: 133,188. The strongest category is Housing at 80; the most expensive is Healthcare at 95. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $9,588 per year vs. the national median. This is an advantage that compounds over time.
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to singles. 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 singles 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.