The 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In North Dakota For 2023


The best places for families in North Dakota are Oakes and Thompson for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

What do 760,000 North Dakota residents know that we don’t? Well, besides how lucky they are that they get to experience the four seasons in places like Devils Lake or that they have the World’s Largest Buffalo Monument in Jamestown, North Dakotans know that the Peace Garden State has some of the most family friendly places to live in America.

Not surprising, considering North Dakota is one of the best states in the country to raise a family. And, folks, this is most evident in North Dakota’s best places to raise a family for 2023. We suggest you take a look below at HomeSnacks’ list of North Dakota’s top ten most family friendly places: we’ve taken the guessing out of the equation.

How did we do it? We consulted the US Census on places in The Roughrider State with more than 1,000 residents. We looked at several factors: crime, education, family friendly activities, and the percent of households that currently have children. We ended up with 30 family friendly cities. We discovered that North Dakota is the 19th largest in area, but the fourth smallest in population. That’s all the more reason to raise your family in this midwestern state: there’s plenty of room for your kids to run and there’s plenty of opportunity to make a difference.

Not surprising, all of this family friendly goodness has made the North Dakota the fastest growing state in the country. And we definitely think it’s because of the state’s Blue Ribbon elementary schools, gold star high schools, prestigious Universities, competitive jobs and salaries, and strong economy: all of the factors that one should consider when choosing a place to raise a family. So, if you’re looking for safe family friendly North Dakota cities and neighborhoods, take a look at our list below.

The 10 Best Cities To Raise A Family In North Dakota For 2023

  1. Oakes
  2. Thompson
  3. Ellendale
  4. Stanley
  5. Cavalier
  6. Lisbon
  7. West Fargo
  8. Rolla
  9. Surrey
  10. Carrington

Want your family to safely wake up to big, beautiful open spaces in their backyard, great schools down the street, and endless, healthy activities at their disposal? HomeSnacks suggests that you look no further than North Dakota’s number one best place to raise a family, Oakes.

If you want to see how North Dakota’s other amazing best places to raise a family faired, take a look at the list below. And if you don’t see your favorite there, head to the bottom.

More reading about North Dakota and the best places for families in the country:

The 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In North Dakota For 2023

Oakes, ND

Source: Wikipedia User Flickr upload bot | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 1,981
Family Friendly Amenities Score: 38
Closest Major City: Minneapolis
Households with kids: 36.5%
More on Oakes: Data | Real Estate

Thompson, ND

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

6
/10

Population: 1,194
Family Friendly Amenities Score: 51
Closest Major City: Minneapolis
Households with kids: 41.5%
More on Thompson: Data | Real Estate

Ellendale, ND

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

5
/10

Population: 1,067
Family Friendly Amenities Score: 45
Closest Major City: Minneapolis
Households with kids: 18.9%
More on Ellendale: Data | Real Estate

Stanley, ND

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

6
/10

Population: 2,079
Family Friendly Amenities Score: 55
Closest Major City: Minneapolis
Households with kids: 30.7%
More on Stanley: Data | Crime | Real Estate

Cavalier, ND

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

8
/10

Population: 1,357
Family Friendly Amenities Score: 37
Closest Major City: Minneapolis
Households with kids: 30.0%
More on Cavalier: Data | Real Estate

Lisbon, ND

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

4
/10

Population: 2,109
Family Friendly Amenities Score: 45
Closest Major City: Minneapolis
Households with kids: 28.7%
More on Lisbon: Data | Crime | Real Estate

West Fargo, ND

Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 37,913
Family Friendly Amenities Score: 57
Closest Major City: Minneapolis
Households with kids: 34.4%
More on West Fargo: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Rolla, ND

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

5
/10

Population: 1,192
Family Friendly Amenities Score: 56
Closest Major City: Minneapolis
Households with kids: 36.1%
More on Rolla: Data | Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 1,430
Family Friendly Amenities Score: 41
Closest Major City: Minneapolis
Households with kids: 36.0%
More on Surrey: Data | Real Estate

Carrington, ND

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

8.5
/10

Population: 2,133
Family Friendly Amenities Score: 40
Closest Major City: Minneapolis
Households with kids: 22.8%
More on Carrington: Data | Real Estate

Methodology: How do you determine which place is best for families in North Dakota anyways?

To give you the places in North Dakota that are best for families, we must look at a handful of metrics. We want to measure the criteria people want in a family-friendly city utilizing Saturday Night Science.

After researching U.S. Census data produced for the state of North Dakota, we looked at the data for every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:

  • Crime (Both violent and property)
  • Quality of local schools
  • Distance to a major city without necessarily being in it
  • % of households with children
  • Family-friendly amenities nearby (museums, libraries, and colleges)

We then gave each city a “Family Score.”

The higher the score, the better the city is for families. We also limited our results to cities with over 1,000 people. For North Dakota, that meant a total of 30 cities.

We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the best cities for families in North Dakota.

Summary: The Best Places To Raise A Family In North Dakota

If you’re looking for a breakdown of cities in North Dakota ranked by criteria that most agree make a place a great spot for families, this is an accurate list.

Here’s a look at the best cities for singles North Dakota according to the data:

  1. Tioga
  2. Grafton
  3. Jamestown

For more North Dakota reading, check out:

Where Are The Best Places For Families In North Dakota?

Rank City Population Amenities Score
1 Oakes, ND 1,981 48
2 Thompson, ND 1,194 57
3 Ellendale, ND 1,067 39
4 Stanley, ND 2,079 37
5 Cavalier, ND 1,357 46
6 Lisbon, ND 2,109 52
7 West Fargo, ND 37,913 40
8 Rolla, ND 1,192 62
9 Surrey, ND 1,430 33
10 Carrington, ND 2,133 47
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.