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Place dossier plate
SheetND-TOWNER-ND · Towner, ND 466 pop · income 25th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Towner
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Towner on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Plainview · lowest
43,750
Plainview · lowest
43,750 median HH income
44.0% of the leader · rank #1
Towner · this city
53,333
Towner · this city
53,333 median HH income
53.6% of the leader · rank #2
Hoopa · near
53,333
Hoopa · near
53,333 median HH income
53.6% of the leader · rank #3
Junction City · near
53,333
Junction City · near
53,333 median HH income
53.6% of the leader · rank #4
Norwich · near
53,333
Norwich · near
53,333 median HH income
53.6% of the leader · rank #5
Kincheloe · near
53,333
Kincheloe · near
53,333 median HH income
53.6% of the leader · rank #6
Trenton · highest
99,531
Trenton · highest
99,531 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Towner on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 466.
Nationally, Towner sits in the 25th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
25th
percentile, household income
7th
percentile, home value
7th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Towner, ND
466 people live in Towner, North Dakota - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Towner report a median income of $53,333 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 21.5%. Home values in Towner run a median of $93,300, and the median resident age is 43.8 years. Educational attainment runs 21.2% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 53.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Towner (No Permits), per Census BPS data. NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 39.9°F with 17.7 inches of precipitation per year and 39.4 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in North Dakota run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, North Dakota scores 89.0 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $965 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in North Dakota run around $200, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Commute times here average 15.1 minutes, with 79.5% driving alone and 6.7% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 22.2 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Towner's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to comparison shortlist to population change to climate and hazard context to schools and households to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Towner, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Towner?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.5%. The reported mean trip to work is 15.1 minutes.
Which cities make useful reference points for Towner?
Within North Dakota, the closest population matches are Glenburn (466 residents, $80,000 income); Trenton (464 residents, $99,531 income); Kulm (476 residents, $69,318 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are New Stuyahok, AK (466 residents); Plainview, AR (466 residents); De Beque, CO (466 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -23 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -4.8% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 39.9°F, with 17.7 inches of precipitation and 39.4 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for North Dakota is 22.2 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Towner?
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 21.2% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
Matched public schools
2
Bachelor's degree+
21.2%
Poverty estimate
21.5%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Towner?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 21.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Household income
$53,333
Home value
$93,300
Value / income
1.7×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A
89.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share F
21.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$53,333
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
21.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Towner profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 89/100 (A) · 89.0 index
Bachelor's+ share: 38/100 (F) · 21.2%
Household income: 25/100 (F) · $53,333
Poverty rate: 11/100 (F) · 21.5%
How does Towner compare to other US cities?
Towner measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income25% higher than other cities
Home value7% pricier than other cities
Median rent7% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Towner against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to North Dakota only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
North Dakota-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Towner near the bottom of North Dakota's cities
Among the 246 North Dakota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Towner ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Towner only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#180 of 227
21st percentile in North Dakota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 246
0th percentile in North Dakota
Median Home Value
#159 of 226
30th percentile in North Dakota
Poverty Rate
#22 of 246
91st percentile in North Dakota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#123 of 246
50th percentile in North Dakota
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within North Dakota only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
25th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Towner's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$93,300Among the most affordablemore affordable than 93% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Towner's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#877 of 15,516
More affordable than 94% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#850 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.7×, Towner sits in the affordable band:
national rank #877 of 15,516 and #850 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$53,333Towner, ND median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Towner, ND median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Towner, ND.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)21.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)21.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)53.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
466
Median Income
$53,333
Median Home Value
$93,300
Median Age
43.8
Poverty Rate
21.5%
Labor force participation
53.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
21.2%
Climate
Avg Temperature
39.9°F
Annual Precipitation
17.7"
Annual Snowfall
39.4"
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Towner's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
477 residents
2021
469 residents
2022
466 residents
2023
459 residents
2024
457 residents
2025
454 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
15.1 minutes
Drive Alone
79.5%
Carpool
3.6%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
10.3%
Work from Home
6.7%
Based on 195 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
North Dakota statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $200
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across North Dakota at $200 (electricity about $90 , water and sewer about $40 ).
These are North Dakota statewide averages, not a meter reading for Towner. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
North Dakota's BEA cost-of-living index is 89.0 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Towner is $965/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to North Dakota statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 22.2 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a North Dakota statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Towner sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Towner compares to similar-size North Dakota cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.