The 10 Best Small Towns In North Dakota For 2024


The best small towns in North Dakota are Thompson and Hillsboro for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

You’ve seen these lists before. Best places to live in North Dakota. Best sururbs in North Dakota. Best counties in North Dakota.

Etc., etc., etc.

But they all focus on major cities and towns in the Peace Garden State, and no one pays attention to the little guy.

Well, that’s all about to change as we put together a list of the superb small towns in North Dakota based on numbers–not opinions or hearsay.

We’ll dive right into our methodology in the next section, but first, we thought you might want to know which places in North Dakota ranked the best based on Saturday Night Science.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 15 Best Small Towns To Live In North Dakota For 2024

  1. Thompson
  2. Hillsboro
  3. Lincoln
  4. Horace
  5. Mapleton
  6. Surrey
  7. Carrington
  8. Washburn
  9. Grand Forks AFB
  10. Burlington
  11. Casselton
  12. Rugby
  13. Langdon
  14. Minot AFB
  15. Bottineau

Best Small Towns To Live In North Dakota Map

What’s the best small town in North Dakota? Thompson is the best small town in North Dakota based on the most recent Census data. If you live in one of these small towns like Thompson, chances are, you’re not surprised. After all, you know how great you have it.

But for the rest of you–keep reading, and we’ll get to just why these small towns made our list.

For more reading on the Peace Garden State check out:

The 15 Best Small Towns In North Dakota For 2024

1. Thompson

Thompson, ND

Source: Flickr User afiler | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,052
Median Income: $108,333 (3rd Best)
Median Home Value: $309,449 (2nd Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.2%

2. Hillsboro

Hillsboro, ND

Source: Wikipedia User Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,655
Median Income: $76,076 (11th Best)
Median Home Value: $200,947 (14th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.6%

3. Lincoln

Lincoln, ND

Source: Wikipedia User afiler | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 4,209
Median Income: $83,947 (8th Best)
Median Home Value: $270,030 (7th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%

4. Horace

Horace, ND

Source: Wikipedia User Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,464
Median Income: $146,184 (1st Best)
Median Home Value: $397,324 (1st Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.6%

5. Mapleton

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,151
Median Income: $108,375 (2nd Best)
Median Home Value: $295,252 (3rd Best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.7%

6. Surrey

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 1,583
Median Income: $100,104 (5th Best)
Median Home Value: $278,740 (5th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%

7. Carrington

Carrington, ND

Source: Flickr User Matt-Zimmerman | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 2,161
Median Income: $62,240 (24th Best)
Median Home Value: $164,183 (23rd Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.0%

8. Washburn

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,463
Median Income: $70,268 (19th Best)
Median Home Value: $222,400 (9th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.0%

9. Grand Forks Afb

Grand Forks Afb, ND

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,113
Median Income: $70,500 (18th Best)
Median Home Value: $0 (41st Best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.1%

10. Burlington

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,308
Median Income: $87,417 (7th Best)
Median Home Value: $271,906 (6th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.2%

11. Casselton

Casselton, ND

Source: Wikipedia User Magicpiano | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,496
Median Income: $61,861 (25th Best)
Median Home Value: $280,193 (4th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.4%

12. Rugby

Rugby, ND

Source: Wikipedia User I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 2,654
Median Income: $54,852 (36th Best)
Median Home Value: $166,273 (22nd Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.6%

13. Langdon

Langdon, ND

Source: Wikipedia User FlickreviewR | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,717
Median Income: $58,939 (30th Best)
Median Home Value: $144,156 (26th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.0%

14. Minot Afb

Minot Afb, ND

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 4,943
Median Income: $72,237 (14th Best)
Median Home Value: $0 (41st Best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%

15. Bottineau

Bottineau, ND

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,104
Median Income: $67,723 (21st Best)
Median Home Value: $218,355 (11th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.7%

Methodology: How We Determined The Coolest Towns In North Dakota

We threw a lot of criteria at this report to get the best, most complete results of the best small towns in North Dakota possible.

Using the most recent data from the Census’s 2018-2022 American Community Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Saturday Night Science, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (Higher is better)
  • Lowest Unemployment Rates
  • Housing costs (Higher is better. More demand.)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Higher is better)
  • Highly Educated Adults (Higher is better)
  • Insurance Rates (Higher is better)
  • Commute Times (Lower is better)

We looked at places with populations lower than 5,000 people and greater than 1,000, of which there were many – 42 to be exact.

We then ranked each place in each category with scores from 1 to 42, averaged them out, and the lowest scores went to our Best Small Towns in North Dakota. Top of that list — Thompson.

This is our tenth time ranking the best small places to live in North Dakota.

Summary: Science Can Tackle Any Issue, Even Small Ones

We said it once, and we’ll say it again — this list: it’s just science. We did the research, crunched the numbers, and it turns out these 15 small towns in North Dakota are the best in which to live.

And who can argue with that?

The best small towns in North Dakota are Thompson, Hillsboro, Lincoln, Horace, Mapleton, Surrey, Carrington, Washburn, Grand Forks AFB, and Burlington.

If you’re curious, here are the worst small towns in North Dakota:

  1. Shell Valley
  2. Fort Totten
  3. Parshall

For more North Dakota reading, check out:

Best Small Towns In North Dakota

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Value Unemployment Rate
1 Thompson, ND 1,052 $108,333 0.2%
2 Hillsboro, ND 1,655 $76,076 1.6%
3 Lincoln, ND 4,209 $83,947 2.5%
4 Horace, ND 3,464 $146,184 0.6%
5 Mapleton, ND 1,151 $108,375 1.7%
6 Surrey, ND 1,583 $100,104 3.8%
7 Carrington, ND 2,161 $62,240 0.0%
8 Washburn, ND 1,463 $70,268 0.0%
9 Grand Forks Afb, ND 2,113 $70,500 2.1%
10 Burlington, ND 1,308 $87,417 5.2%
11 Casselton, ND 2,496 $61,861 1.4%
12 Rugby, ND 2,654 $54,852 0.6%
13 Langdon, ND 1,717 $58,939 0.0%
14 Minot Afb, ND 4,943 $72,237 3.7%
15 Bottineau, ND 2,104 $67,723 6.7%
16 Beulah, ND 3,063 $90,655 0.6%
17 Garrison, ND 1,524 $70,813 0.9%
18 Stanley, ND 2,189 $101,351 3.3%
19 Velva, ND 1,050 $75,147 2.4%
20 Kenmare, ND 1,016 $59,063 2.0%
21 Hazen, ND 2,569 $79,231 4.1%
22 Larimore, ND 1,343 $70,568 1.5%
23 Crosby, ND 1,105 $82,656 3.7%
24 Bowman, ND 1,646 $73,309 4.4%
25 Mayville, ND 2,102 $67,813 3.6%
26 Hettinger, ND 1,096 $55,192 1.3%
27 Park River, ND 1,556 $70,764 1.0%
28 New Rockford, ND 1,421 $38,393 3.0%
29 Cavalier, ND 1,360 $55,387 10.4%
30 Harvey, ND 1,767 $43,864 2.0%
31 Oakes, ND 2,125 $64,931 4.0%
32 Lisbon, ND 2,159 $61,250 4.5%
33 Grafton, ND 4,161 $59,696 3.3%
34 Cando, ND 1,218 $53,400 2.4%
35 New Town, ND 2,714 $56,176 3.9%
36 Tioga, ND 1,376 $63,920 4.9%
37 Enderlin, ND 1,030 $58,403 4.4%
38 Rolla, ND 1,190 $58,036 9.3%
39 Belcourt, ND 1,772 $61,250 8.0%
40 Parshall, ND 1,217 $44,904 2.5%
41 Fort Totten, ND 1,042 $30,234 6.2%
42 Shell Valley, ND 1,183 $42,029 10.0%
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.