Do you live in one of the murder capitals of North Dakota?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
To find the cities in North Dakota with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI crime data on murders for the 7 cities in the Peace Garden State with over 2,000 residents.
What city has the highest murder rate in North Dakota? The city with the highest murder rate in North Dakota is Stanley with 47 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in North Dakota with highest number of murders? The city in North Dakota with the highest number of murders is Fargo with 6 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in North Dakota ranked. There were ‘only’ 7 cities in North Dakota where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 11 places had no murder.
47 per 100k · #1 highest murder rate in North Dakota
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
8 per 100k · #2 highest murder rate in North Dakota
Located in
Stark County, North Dakota
Dickinson is a city in Stark County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Stark County. The population was 17,787 at the 2010 census. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated 2015 population is 23,765.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
5 per 100k · #3 highest murder rate in North Dakota
Located in
Grand Forks County, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the State of North Dakota and is the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city’s population was 52,838, while the total of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461. Grand Forks, along with its twin city of East Grand Forks, Minnesota, forms the center of the Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is often called Greater Grand Forks or The Grand Cities.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
4 per 100k · #4 highest murder rate in North Dakota
Located in
Cass County, North Dakota
Fargo is the most populous city in the state of North Dakota, accounting for nearly 16% of the state population. Fargo is also the county seat of Cass County. According to the 2016 United States Census estimates, its population was 120,762, making it the 229th-most populous city in the United States. Fargo, along with its twin city of Moorhead, Minnesota, as well as the adjacent cities of West Fargo, North Dakota and Dilworth, Minnesota, form the core of the Fargo-Moorhead, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in 2016 contained a population of 238,124. In 2014, Forbes magazine ranked Fargo as the fourth fastest-growing small city in the United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2 per 100k · #5 highest murder rate in North Dakota
Located in
Cass County, North Dakota
West Fargo is a city in Cass County, North Dakota, United States. It is, as of the 2016 Census Estimates, the fifth largest city in the state of North Dakota with a population estimated at 34,858, and it is one of the state’s fastest growing cities. West Fargo was founded in 1926. The city is part of the Fargo-Moorhead, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2 per 100k · #6 highest murder rate in North Dakota
Located in
Ward County, North Dakota
Minot MY-not) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state’s north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base located approximately 15 miles north of the city. With a population of 40,888 at the 2010 census, Minot is the fourth largest city in the state and a trading center for a large portion of northern North Dakota, southwestern Manitoba, and southeastern Saskatchewan. Founded in 1886 during the construction of the Great Northern Railway, Minot is also known as “Magic City”, commemorating its remarkable growth in size over a short time.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1 per 100k · #7 highest murder rate in North Dakota
Located in
Burleigh County, North Dakota
Bismarck is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the second-most populous city in North Dakota after Fargo. The city’s population was estimated in 2016 at 72,417, while its metropolitan population was 131,635. In 2015, Forbes magazine ranked Bismarck as the seventh fastest-growing small city in the United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is North Dakota’s statewide median.
On the map
Where North Dakota’s murders happen
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of North Dakota
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of murders in each city annually.
We only looked at every single city in North Dakota for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 7 cities to rank.
We took the number of murders per capita as the ranking factor. The place with the most murders per capita based on the most recent data is Stanley. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in North Dakota. We updated the list for 2026.
The full plate
Murder Rates By City In North Dakota
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanley | 2,133 | 1 | 47 |
| 2 | Dickinson | 24,910 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | Grand Forks | 58,848 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | Fargo | 135,682 | 6 | 4 |
| 5 | West Fargo | 40,915 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | Minot | 47,041 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | Bismarck | 75,546 | 1 | 1 |
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. 7 North Dakota cities that reported a murder.
Summary
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In North Dakota For 2026
If you’re looking at the places in North Dakota with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
The cities with the highest murder per capita in North Dakota are Stanley, Dickinson, Grand Forks, Fargo, West Fargo, Minot, Bismarck.
