Horace, Watford City, West Fargo: These cities aren’t just some of the best places to live in North Dakota. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Peace Garden State.
Horace in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $145,801 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 4.422542330048016%.
If you’re thinking of moving to one of these towns, you’ll probably need to start saving. The richest places in North Dakota share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2019-2023 American Community Survey for the 27 places in North Dakota with more than 2,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Richest Places In North Dakota For 2025
For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in North Dakota.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about North Dakota:
The 10 Richest Cities In North Dakota For 2025
1. Horace
/10
Population: 3,964
Median Income: $145,801
Median Home Values: $399,550
More on Horace: Data
2. Watford City
/10
Population: 6,016
Median Income: $88,351
Median Home Values: $377,120
More on Watford City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
3. West Fargo
/10
Population: 39,325
Median Income: $96,877
Median Home Values: $353,547
More on West Fargo: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
4. Williston
/10
Population: 27,964
Median Income: $84,309
Median Home Values: $365,640
More on Williston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
5. Bismarck
/10
Population: 74,146
Median Income: $77,608
Median Home Values: $363,571
More on Bismarck: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
6. Stanley
/10
7. Lincoln
/10
8. Mandan
/10
Population: 24,293
Median Income: $75,966
Median Home Values: $340,080
More on Mandan: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
9. Dickinson
/10
Population: 25,216
Median Income: $76,964
Median Home Values: $317,292
More on Dickinson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
10. Beulah
Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In North Dakota For 2025
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is simply identifying personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places.” So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2019-2023 American Community Survey and applied Saturday Night Science:
- Median Home Values
- Median Household Income
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place is. And home values are a measure of wealth. The two combine to define a “Rich City.”
After we collected the data for all 27 places with more than 2,000 people in North Dakota, we ranked each place from 1 to 27 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score,” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Horace, crowned the “Richest City In North Dakota For 2025.”
The data has been updated for 2025. This is our tenth time ranking the wealthiest cities in North Dakota.
You can skip to the end to see the rankings for all 27 places.
Summary: The Wealthiest Places In North Dakota For 2025
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in North Dakota, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in North Dakota.
The richest cities in North Dakota are Horace, Watford City, West Fargo, Williston, Bismarck, Stanley, Lincoln, Mandan, Dickinson, and Beulah.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in North Dakota, according to data:
Poorest: Grafton
2nd Poorest: Rugby
3rd Poorest: Lisbon
For more North Dakota reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In North Dakota
- Most Dangerous Cities In North Dakota
- Cheapest Places To Live In North Dakota
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In North Dakota
| Rank | City | RichScore | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horace | 1.0 | $145,801 | $399,550 |
| 2 | Watford City | 3.0 | $88,351 | $377,120 |
| 3 | West Fargo | 4.0 | $96,877 | $353,547 |
| 4 | Williston | 4.5 | $84,309 | $365,640 |
| 5 | Bismarck | 6.0 | $77,608 | $363,571 |
| 6 | Stanley | 7.5 | $105,893 | $244,425 |
| 7 | Lincoln | 8.5 | $83,387 | $307,843 |
| 8 | Mandan | 8.5 | $75,966 | $340,080 |
| 9 | Dickinson | 8.5 | $76,964 | $317,292 |
| 10 | Beulah | 9.5 | $84,417 | $240,445 |
| 11 | Minot | 10.5 | $77,431 | $271,232 |
| 12 | Casselton | 11.5 | $68,472 | $313,513 |
| 13 | Fargo | 11.5 | $66,029 | $316,580 |
| 14 | Bottineau | 14.5 | $70,882 | $237,373 |
| 15 | Grand Forks | 15.0 | $63,838 | $285,642 |
| 16 | Hazen | 15.5 | $72,094 | $214,374 |
| 17 | Carrington | 19.5 | $65,469 | $193,156 |
| 18 | Wahpeton | 20.0 | $57,417 | $228,318 |
| 19 | Devils Lake | 21.0 | $42,755 | $240,046 |
| 20 | New Town | 21.0 | $50,707 | $233,252 |
| 21 | Mayville | 21.0 | $64,044 | $189,740 |
| 22 | Oakes | 21.5 | $64,750 | $165,733 |
| 23 | Jamestown | 22.0 | $54,809 | $210,018 |
| 24 | Valley City | 22.5 | $56,471 | $195,224 |
| 25 | Lisbon | 22.5 | $61,953 | $172,583 |
| 26 | Rugby | 23.5 | $50,580 | $196,245 |
| 27 | Grafton | 24.0 | $60,184 | $164,708 |