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Place dossier plate
SheetND-WEST-FARGO-ND · West Fargo, ND 39,325 pop · income 76th 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 West Fargo
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest West Fargo on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Jamestown · lowest
54,809
Jamestown · lowest
54,809 median HH income
39.7% of the leader · rank #1
Teutopolis · near
96,875
Teutopolis · near
96,875 median HH income
70.2% of the leader · rank #2
White Heath · near
96,875
White Heath · near
96,875 median HH income
70.2% of the leader · rank #3
Crumpton · near
96,875
Crumpton · near
96,875 median HH income
70.2% of the leader · rank #4
Glenarden · near
96,875
Glenarden · near
96,875 median HH income
70.2% of the leader · rank #5
West Fargo · this city
96,877
West Fargo · this city
96,877 median HH income
70.2% of the leader · rank #6
Park Ridge · highest
138,059
Park Ridge · highest
138,059 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for West Fargo on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 39,325.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
West Fargo - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, West Fargo places in the 76th percentile for household income and the 57th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
76th
percentile, household income
65th
percentile, home value
7th
percentile, median rent
57th
percentile, safety
📝 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: West Fargo, ND
North Dakota's West Fargo is a small city, with 39,325 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in West Fargo report a median income of $96,877 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 2.8%. West Fargo's housing stock carries a median value of $302,200, and the median resident age is 32.7 years. 45.2% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 79.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 227 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 58% from five years earlier. West Fargo reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 1178.1 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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. Monthly utility costs average around $200 across North Dakota, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 22.2 out of 100 (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of West Fargo'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 comparison shortlist to population change to housing and income to schools and households to reported crime to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For West Fargo, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for West Fargo?
Within North Dakota, the closest population matches are Minot (47,922 residents, $77,431 income); Williston (27,964 residents, $84,309 income); Dickinson (25,216 residents, $76,964 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Bettendorf, IA (39,297 residents); Aventura, FL (39,372 residents); Park Ridge, IL (39,241 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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Is West Fargo growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +2,281 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 227 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
How far does income reach against housing in West Fargo?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.8%, 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. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
What does the education layer cover for West Fargo?
The NCES join finds 17 public schools within the city match. 45.2% 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 city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in West Fargo?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1178.1 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 48% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
1014.3
Violent rate
163.8
Total reported rate
1178.1
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the journey to work look like in West Fargo?
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 82.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.5%
Work from home
9.8%
Drive alone
82.3%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 23,512 workers age 16+.
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.
Poverty rate A-
2.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share A-
45.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income B+
$96,877
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime C
164 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
West Fargo profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 89/100 (A) · 89.0 index
Poverty rate: 80/100 (A-) · 2.8%
Bachelor's+ share: 80/100 (A-) · 45.2%
Household income: 75/100 (B+) · $96,877
Violent crime: 55/100 (C) · 164 /100k
Where West Fargo sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
West Fargo's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - West Fargo highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
West Fargo, ND (this city): home $302,200, crime 1,178/100k
Bettendorf, IA : home $295,600, crime 972/100k
Aventura, FL : home $416,300, crime 4,254/100k
Park Ridge, IL : home $539,300, crime 944/100k
Carol Stream, IL : home $308,700, crime 780/100k
Greer, SC : home $264,300, crime 2,072/100k
Minot, ND : home $254,400, crime 1,722/100k
Williston, ND : home $262,700, crime 2,753/100k
Dickinson, ND : home $252,400, crime 2,003/100k
Mandan, ND : home $246,300, crime 2,869/100k
Grand Forks, ND : home $243,300, crime 2,641/100k
Jamestown, ND : home $192,500, crime 1,342/100k
How does West Fargo compare to other US cities?
West Fargo measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income76% higher than other cities
Home value65% pricier than other cities
Median rent7% pricier than other cities
Safety57% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at North Dakota, West Fargo ranks #9 of 21 North Dakota cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares West Fargo 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 West Fargo near the bottom of North Dakota's cities
Among the 246 North Dakota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, West Fargo ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares West Fargo only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#23 of 227
90th percentile in North Dakota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 246
0th percentile in North Dakota
Median Home Value
#11 of 226
95th percentile in North Dakota
Poverty Rate
#160 of 246
35th percentile in North Dakota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#8 of 246
97th 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
76th percentile nationally for median household income · 57th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
West Fargo's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
West Fargo's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How West Fargo's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$302,20035th percentilemore affordable than 35% 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
West Fargo's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,282 of 15,516
More affordable than 53% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,072 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.1×, West Fargo sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,282 of 15,516 and #1,072 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
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
$96,877West Fargo, ND median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context West Fargo, 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 West Fargo, ND.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)45.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)79.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
39,325
Median Income
$96,877
Median Home Value
$302,200
Median Age
32.7
Poverty Rate
2.8%
Labor force participation
79.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
45.2%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1178.1
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
163.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1014.3
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
17
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
West Fargo's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
38,894 residents
2021
39,489 residents
2022
40,145 residents
2023
40,638 residents
2024
40,672 residents
2025
41,175 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
227
housing units authorized
Single-Family
144
detached homes
Multifamily
83
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
5.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
545
312
233
$104.2M
2020
373
373
0
$104.9M
2021
289
251
38
$101.9M
2022
253
201
52
$94.0M
2023
156
156
0
$44.5M
2024
227
144
83
$75.5M
Permit volume decreased 58% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
82.3%
Carpool
6.0%
Public Transit
0.5%
Walk
0.4%
Work from Home
9.8%
Other
1.0%
Based on 23,512 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 West Fargo. 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 West Fargo 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 West Fargo sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How West Fargo 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, FBI UCR, 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.