City · McLean County, North Dakota

Garrison, North Dakota

Garrison is a city in McLean County, North Dakota. It has 1,397 residents. Garrison, North Dakota has a quality-of-life score of 85 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,389 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Dakota it ranks #36 of 56 cities and towns. It ranks best on students per teacher (low), public libraries (high) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), gyms and fitness centers (low) and mental health providers (low).

85Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,389 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Dakota: #36 of 56 in ND
Population: 1,397 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 998.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 3829460

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety75#3,835/15,637
Economy79#3,291/15,631
Housing95#719/14,977
Health52#7,460/15,609
Healthcare35#10,224/15,650
Environment98#359/15,453
Education89#1,726/15,649
Infrastructure25#11,723/15,650
Community90#1,580/15,651
Leisure & amenities72#4,418/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Garrison, North Dakota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “McLean County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Students per teacher · low8.9×
100/100North Dakota 11.6×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsMcLean County value
Public libraries · high7.1 /10k
100/100North Dakota 1.2 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesMcLean County value
Social associations · high21.4 /10k
99/100North Dakota 15.7 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcLean County value
Grocery stores · high4.1 /10k
98/100North Dakota 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMcLean County value
Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100North Dakota 2.6%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Restaurants and bars · high18.5 /10k
98/100North Dakota 12.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMcLean County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high211 mi
1/100North Dakota 136 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMcLean County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100North Dakota 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMcLean County value
Mental health providers · low41 /100k
4/100North Dakota 261 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcLean County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low38.7%
5/100North Dakota 75.6%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcLean County value
New business applications · low7.8 /1k
6/100North Dakota 11.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMcLean County value
Distance to an emergency room · high16.4 mi
6/100North Dakota 7.7 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMcLean County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
1,623 (2015-2019) → 1,397 (2020-2024)
−14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
61.6% (2015-2019) → 83.1% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
19.1% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−19 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.9 /1k (2021) → 0.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−62%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$53,229 (2015-2019) → $71,974 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
11.7% (2015-2019) → 6.5% (2020-2024)
−5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Garrison, North Dakota improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Child poverty−19 points19.1% → 0.0%
Broadband+21 points61.6% → 83.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Garrison, North Dakota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.3 min2015-2019	21.4 min2020-2024	+2.0 min	Within the margin of error	27%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.2%2015-2019	21.8%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Broadband subscriptions	61.6%2015-2019	83.1%2020-2024	+21 points	Improved	92%
Child poverty rate	19.1%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	−19 points	Improved	93%
Effective property tax rate	0.86%2015-2019	1.06%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	3%
High school diploma or higher	90.2%2015-2019	91.0%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	2.3×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	85%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4362015-2019	0.4102020-2024	−0.027	Within the margin of error	72%
Median household income	$53,2292015-2019	$71,9742020-2024	+35%	Within the margin of error	66%
Poverty rate	11.7%2015-2019	6.5%2020-2024	−5.2 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	24.3%2015-2019	25.5%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Rent-burdened households	37.7%2015-2019	36.4%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.7%2015-2019	6.0%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	66%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Garrison, North Dakota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Garrison, North Dakota in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Garrison, North Dakota itself moved +1.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,397 residents (±227)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

574 households (±91)

Garrison, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Under $25k16%†91
$25k–50k20%†117
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

574 households (±91)

Garrison, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Own81%467
Rent19%†107

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Rent (−8.7 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

542 workers (±132)

Garrison, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Drive alone87%474
Carpool8.1%†44
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of McLean County, the county holding most of Garrison's residents.

McLean County has 257 employer establishments, 262 for every 10,000 residents (1.05× the US rate of 248; 0.81× North Dakota's), with 2,319 paid employees at an average annual pay of $77,859. The Census Bureau also counts 811 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 257; 811 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 262; US 248 · North Dakota 323
Paid employees: 2,319
Average annual pay: $77,859; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of McLean County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Religious organizations	21	21.4	3.85×More than typical	49	$18,429	—
Specialty trade contractors	20	20.4	1.31×More than typical	35	$58,143	55
Truck transportation	19	19.3	3.82×More than typical	50	$53,260	30
Restaurants and other eating places	17	17.3	0.94×About typical	134	$17,910	4
Ambulatory health care services	14	14.2	0.68×Fewer than typical	118	$61,627	28
Full-service restaurants	13	13.2	1.72×More than typical	112	$18,054	3
Insurance agencies and brokerages	13	13.2	3.01×More than typical	42	$75,476	11
Banks and credit unions	11	11.2	3.47×More than typical	85	$66,012	—
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	8	8.1	2.58×Too few to compare	11	$83,818	9
Building equipment contractors	7	7.1	1.18×Too few to compare	19	$49,684	8
Gasoline stations	7	7.1	2.20×Too few to compare	104	$22,971	—
Building material and supplies dealers (hardware, home centers)	6	6.1	3.70×Too few to compare	35	$46,143	—

Rank places for an industry Open McLean County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 9,825 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Garrison is mostly in McLean County.

See federal money in McLean County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Garrison, North Dakota is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Julie FedorchakR-ND · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 2.1%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

McLean County95100% of residents

Other cities and towns in McLean County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3829460

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends