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 25 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 2026:
What’s the poorest city in North Dakota? According to the facts, Devils Lake is the poorest place in North Dakota for 2026.
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 2026
1. Devils Lake
/10
Population: 7,308
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $43,220 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.8% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 1,590
More on Devils Lake: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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 7,308 people averages the lowest median household income in North Dakota and the 2nd 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. New Town
/10
The second poorest city in North Dakota is New Town.
The city ranks as having the highest incidence of poverty and 3rd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 12th highest in the Peace Garden State.
3. Valley City
/10
Population: 6,541
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 2)
Median Income: $60,339 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 16.7% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 1,090
More on Valley City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Placing as the third poorest city, Valley City’s median income ranks as the 5th 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 16.67% 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. Wahpeton
/10
Population: 8,010
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $62,750 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 15.6% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,252
More on Wahpeton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Wahpeton ranks as the fourth poorest place in North Dakota.
The town ranks as having the 7th lowest median household income and the 4th 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
/10
Population: 15,787
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $56,554 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 14.7% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,315
More on Jamestown: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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. Rugby
/10
Rugby ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Peace Garden State.
It ranks as having the 10th highest incidence of poverty and the 24th highest unemployment rate.
7. Grand Forks
/10
Population: 59,042
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $63,627 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 15.5% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 9,163
More on Grand Forks: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Grand Forks places as the seventh poorest city in North Dakota.
The city of over 59,042 ranks as having the 5th 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. Grafton
/10
Grafton 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. Lisbon
/10
Lisbon couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in North Dakota; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 9th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Lisbon ranks as having the 6th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in North Dakota.
10. Bottineau
/10
Population: 2,205
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 5)
Median Income: $65,905 (10th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 12.0% (12th highest)
People In Poverty: 265
More on Bottineau: Data | Movers
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in North Dakota is Bottineau.
The city of 2,205 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 2026
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 2020-2024 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 25 places with more than 2,000 people in North Dakota, we ranked each place from 1 to 25 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 2026”.
This report has been updated for 2026, which is our eleventh time ranking the poorest places in North Dakota.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In North Dakota For 2026
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: Lincoln
3rd Richest: Watford City
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 | 7,308 | 21.8% | $43,220 | 1,590 |
| 2 | New Town | 2,721 | 24.0% | $52,500 | 652 |
| 3 | Valley City | 6,541 | 16.7% | $60,339 | 1,090 |
| 4 | Wahpeton | 8,010 | 15.6% | $62,750 | 1,252 |
| 5 | Jamestown | 15,787 | 14.7% | $56,554 | 2,315 |
| 6 | Rugby | 2,481 | 13.0% | $50,365 | 323 |
| 7 | Grand Forks | 59,042 | 15.5% | $63,627 | 9,163 |
| 8 | Grafton | 4,102 | 14.4% | $62,679 | 590 |
| 9 | Lisbon | 2,259 | 15.4% | $64,327 | 347 |
| 10 | Bottineau | 2,205 | 12.0% | $65,905 | 265 |
| 11 | Fargo | 131,627 | 12.9% | $66,998 | 16,940 |
| 12 | Minot | 47,791 | 11.1% | $73,219 | 5,309 |
| 13 | Mandan | 24,522 | 9.8% | $71,780 | 2,410 |
| 14 | Beulah | 3,040 | 11.2% | $76,848 | 341 |
| 15 | Dickinson | 25,357 | 13.6% | $82,696 | 3,448 |
| 16 | Carrington | 2,168 | 9.7% | $77,171 | 210 |
| 17 | Hazen | 2,453 | 10.3% | $79,609 | 251 |
| 18 | Bismarck | 75,556 | 9.3% | $78,387 | 7,041 |
| 19 | Casselton | 2,953 | 7.1% | $73,259 | 209 |
| 20 | Williston | 28,056 | 8.1% | $79,381 | 2,278 |
| 21 | West Fargo | 40,094 | 8.8% | $90,665 | 3,512 |
| 22 | Stanley | 2,097 | 8.4% | $109,573 | 175 |
| 23 | Watford City | 6,039 | 7.8% | $102,260 | 470 |
| 24 | Lincoln | 4,381 | 5.6% | $87,652 | 247 |
| 25 | Horace | 4,588 | 4.3% | $138,578 | 198 |