Like all states, North Dakota has certain places that are going on hard times. These North Dakota places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in North Dakota.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 27 cities in North Dakota with more than 2,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Places In North Dakota For 2024:
What’s the poorest city in North Dakota? According to the facts, Devils Lake is the poorest place in North Dakota for 2024.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more North Dakota reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In North Dakota
- Cheapest Places To Live In North Dakota
- Most Dangerous Cities In North Dakota
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In North Dakota For 2024
1. Devils Lake
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Population: 7,192
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $41,203 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.4% (highest)
People In Poverty: 1,607
More on Devils Lake: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Devils Lake, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in North Dakota thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 7,192 people averages the lowest median household income in North Dakota and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Wahpeton
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Population: 7,983
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $51,417 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 18.3% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 1,458
More on Wahpeton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
The second poorest city in North Dakota is Wahpeton.
The city ranks as having the 3rd highest incidence of poverty and 2nd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 17th highest in the Peace Garden State.
3. New Town
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Placing as the third poorest city, New Town’s median income ranks as the 6th lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 20.37% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Peace Garden State.
4. Valley City
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Population: 6,558
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 4)
Median Income: $52,224 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 16.4% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,074
More on Valley City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Valley City ranks as the fourth poorest place in North Dakota.
The town ranks as having the 3rd lowest median household income and the 6th highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Jamestown
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Population: 15,850
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 2)
Median Income: $53,389 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 14.9% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,360
More on Jamestown: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
The fifth poorest city in North Dakota is Jamestown.
The city ranks as having the 4th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 7th highest in North Dakota.
Still not the best news for Jamestown.
6. Grand Forks
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Population: 58,935
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Median Income: $59,079 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 16.4% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 9,677
More on Grand Forks: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Grand Forks ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Peace Garden State.
It ranks as having the 5th highest incidence of poverty and the 9th highest unemployment rate.
7. Lisbon
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Lisbon places as the seventh poorest city in North Dakota.
The city of over 2,159 ranks as having the 4th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Rugby
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Rugby ranks as the eighth poorest city in North Dakota.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. Fargo
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Population: 127,319
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 2)
Median Income: $64,432 (12th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 13.3% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 16,971
More on Fargo: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Fargo couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in North Dakota; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 12th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Fargo ranks as having the 9th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in North Dakota.
10. Bottineau
/10
Population: 2,104
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Income: $67,723 (14th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 13.9% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 292
More on Bottineau: Data
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in North Dakota is Bottineau.
The city of 2,104 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Peace Garden State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In North Dakota for 2024
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 27 places with more than 2,000 people in North Dakota, we ranked each place from 1 to 27 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Devils Lake, crowned the “Poorest Place In North Dakota For 2024”.
This report has been updated for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in North Dakota.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In North Dakota For 2024
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest 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 bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in North Dakota, according to data:
- Richest: Horace
2nd Richest: Stanley
3rd Richest: West Fargo
For more North Dakota reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In North Dakota
- Safest Places In North Dakota
- Worst Places To Live In North Dakota
- Most Expensive Places To Live In North Dakota
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In North Dakota
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devils Lake | 7,192 | 22.4% | $41,203 | 1,607 |
| 2 | Wahpeton | 7,983 | 18.3% | $51,417 | 1,458 |
| 3 | New Town | 2,714 | 20.4% | $56,176 | 552 |
| 4 | Valley City | 6,558 | 16.4% | $52,224 | 1,074 |
| 5 | Jamestown | 15,850 | 14.9% | $53,389 | 2,360 |
| 6 | Grand Forks | 58,935 | 16.4% | $59,079 | 9,677 |
| 7 | Lisbon | 2,159 | 17.0% | $61,250 | 367 |
| 8 | Rugby | 2,654 | 13.0% | $54,852 | 346 |
| 9 | Fargo | 127,319 | 13.3% | $64,432 | 16,971 |
| 10 | Bottineau | 2,104 | 13.9% | $67,723 | 292 |
| 11 | Grafton | 4,161 | 9.5% | $59,696 | 396 |
| 12 | Mayville | 2,102 | 12.0% | $67,813 | 251 |
| 13 | Oakes | 2,125 | 10.6% | $64,931 | 224 |
| 14 | Minot | 48,038 | 11.3% | $75,545 | 5,433 |
| 15 | Carrington | 2,161 | 8.9% | $62,240 | 193 |
| 16 | Hazen | 2,569 | 11.7% | $79,231 | 299 |
| 17 | Dickinson | 25,116 | 10.7% | $75,767 | 2,682 |
| 18 | Mandan | 24,049 | 9.5% | $78,077 | 2,294 |
| 19 | Watford City | 5,900 | 11.3% | $84,076 | 665 |
| 20 | Bismarck | 73,694 | 9.2% | $76,014 | 6,765 |
| 21 | Casselton | 2,496 | 3.4% | $61,861 | 85 |
| 22 | Williston | 27,783 | 7.4% | $80,352 | 2,044 |
| 23 | Beulah | 3,063 | 7.1% | $90,655 | 217 |
| 24 | Lincoln | 4,209 | 5.5% | $83,947 | 233 |
| 25 | West Fargo | 38,653 | 6.8% | $96,929 | 2,612 |
| 26 | Stanley | 2,189 | 5.4% | $101,351 | 118 |
| 27 | Horace | 3,464 | 5.3% | $146,184 | 184 |