Horace, West Fargo, Beulah: 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 $138,636 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 2.164915631964343%.
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 2017-2021 American Community Survey for the 25 places in North Dakota with more than 2,000 people.
Here are the 10 richest places in North Dakota for 2023:
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 2023
1. Horace
/10
Population: 3,141
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $138,636
Unemployment Rate: 0.7%
Poverty Rate: 2.2%
More on Horace: Real Estate | Photos
2. West Fargo
/10
Population: 37,913
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 2)
Median Income: $93,382
Unemployment Rate: 1.0%
Poverty Rate: 6.3%
More on West Fargo: Real Estate | Photos
3. Beulah
/10
Population: 3,070
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $78,688
Unemployment Rate: 1.2%
Poverty Rate: 6.3%
More on Beulah: Real Estate | Photos
4. Casselton
/10
Population: 2,493
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 2)
Median Income: $57,227
Unemployment Rate: 1.4%
Poverty Rate: 2.9%
More on Casselton: Real Estate | Photos
5. Watford City
/10
Population: 5,725
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 2)
Median Income: $76,366
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%
Poverty Rate: 11.6%
More on Watford City: Real Estate | Photos
6. Stanley
/10
Population: 2,079
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 2)
Median Income: $97,000
Unemployment Rate: 4.8%
Poverty Rate: 5.1%
More on Stanley: Real Estate | Photos
7. Mandan
/10
Population: 23,784
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 3)
Median Income: $74,341
Unemployment Rate: 2.7%
Poverty Rate: 8.9%
More on Mandan: Real Estate | Photos
8. Williston
/10
Population: 27,368
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 3)
Median Income: $75,061
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%
Poverty Rate: 7.6%
More on Williston: Real Estate | Photos
9. Bismarck
/10
Population: 73,321
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 3)
Median Income: $70,125
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 8.7%
More on Bismarck: Real Estate | Photos
10. Lincoln
/10
Population: 4,126
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 8)
Median Income: $76,333
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%
Poverty Rate: 11.9%
More on Lincoln: Real Estate | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In North Dakota For 2023
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify 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 2017-2021 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 25 places with more than 2,000 people in North Dakota, we ranked each place from 1 to 25 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 2023”. You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 25 places.
Summary: The Wealthiest Places In North Dakota For 2023
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.
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: Jamestown
2nd Poorest: Grand Forks
3rd Poorest: New Town
For more North Dakota reading, check out:
- Safest Places In North Dakota
- Best Places To Live In North Dakota
- Best Places To Raise A Family In North Dakota
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In North Dakota
| Rank | City | RichScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horace | 1.67 |
| 2 | West Fargo | 4.33 |
| 3 | Beulah | 5.0 |
| 4 | Casselton | 8.0 |
| 5 | Watford City | 8.33 |
| 6 | Stanley | 9.0 |
| 7 | Mandan | 9.33 |
| 8 | Williston | 9.33 |
| 9 | Bismarck | 9.67 |
| 10 | Lincoln | 10.0 |
| 11 | Carrington | 10.0 |
| 12 | Rugby | 12.33 |
| 13 | Dickinson | 12.67 |
| 14 | Hazen | 13.0 |
| 15 | Minot | 14.67 |
| 16 | Grafton | 15.0 |
| 17 | Fargo | 15.67 |
| 18 | Valley City | 17.33 |
| 19 | Devils Lake | 17.67 |
| 20 | Bottineau | 19.0 |
| 21 | Wahpeton | 20.0 |
| 22 | Lisbon | 20.0 |
| 23 | New Town | 20.33 |
| 24 | Grand Forks | 20.33 |
| 25 | Jamestown | 22.33 |
