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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Put it this way: Living alone means bearing 100% of every bill. We ranked 1 cities in North Dakota for singles, weighting rent, overall costs, and city size. Fargo leads: rent $1,096/mo, index 64, population 133,188.
Put it this way: Living alone means bearing 100% of every bill. We ranked 1 cities in North Dakota for singles, weighting rent, overall costs, and city size. Fargo leads: rent $1,096/mo, index 64, population 133,188.
The #1 spot goes to Fargo, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,096/month — saving renters $9,588 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 64, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 93. At a 20% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
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.
#1 Ranked: Fargo — cost index 64, rent $1,096/mo, income $66,029
Singles scoring: rent $1,096/mo (solo housing), cost index 64, population 133,188 — livability on one income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
133,188 residents · North Dakota
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.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to singles. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in North Dakota by this personalized metric. 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.
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.