Fargo, North Dakota
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Fargo.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Fargo compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 127,281City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $60,000Incorporated place (ACS)24% below U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 92ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)8% below U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $290,000City limits (ACS)Near U.S. avg ($303,400)U.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,050City limits (ACS)22% below U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 2.4%County LAUS · not city-only1.8 pts below U.S. avgU.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 16 min36% below U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 3424% below U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 28launch estimate, not FBI-verified yet
- Property crime rate
- 48launch estimate, not FBI-verified yet
- Summer high
- 82°F5.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 2°F32.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 22 in33% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 20025% below U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Fargo with another city
About 127,281 people live in Fargo, ND. Households here report a median income near $60,000; our housing-derived cost index is about 92 (below the national housing-cost baseline). Entry home prices around $290,000 still look attainable compared with coastal metros.
Long winters and energy-cycle employment swings are hard to ignore. Winter lows around 2°F mean heating costs and snow logistics belong on the checklist. Commutes average near 16 minutes one-way, with walkability near 34/100. A recent county unemployment reading near 2.4% suggests a relatively tight local labor market. This city hasn't had its FBI crime data refreshed yet, so the safety figure is a placeholder estimate — verify current numbers before treating it as authoritative.
Fargo is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Fargo with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau / American Community Survey (curated seed)
- BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics (curated seed)
- Crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer (curated seed)
- Climate: NOAA Climate Normals (curated seed)
Last updated 2026-07-28
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