City · Cass County, North Dakota

Horace, North Dakota

Horace is a city in Cass County, North Dakota, part of the Fargo, ND-MN metro area. It has 4,588 residents. Horace, North Dakota has a quality-of-life score of 98 out of 100 (very high), ranking #305 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Dakota it ranks #2 of 56 cities and towns. It ranks best on loneliness (low), distance to an airport (low) and new homes permitted (high). It ranks worst on property crime rate (high), days with unhealthy air (high) and preventable hospital stays (high).

98Very high

Quality-of-life score: #305 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Dakota: #2 of 56 in ND
Population: 4,588 (2020-2024)
Land area: 13 mi²
Density: 361.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 3838900

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety46#8,398/15,637
Economy95#749/15,631
Housing98#271/14,977
Health84#2,575/15,609
Healthcare94#901/15,650
Environment62#5,899/15,453
Education92#1,295/15,649
Infrastructure100#70/15,650
Community86#2,179/15,651
Leisure & amenities85#2,303/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Horace, North Dakota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Cass 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

Loneliness · low28.7%
100/100North Dakota 29.8%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Distance to an airport · low7 mi
99/100North Dakota 136 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCass County value
New homes permitted · high34.9 /1k
98/100North Dakota 2.8 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Frequent mental distress · low13.0%
98/100North Dakota 15.4%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Rent-burdened households · low33.3%
98/100North Dakota 38.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
High school diploma or higher · high96.7%
97/100North Dakota 94.0%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Property crime rate · high2,476 /100k
5/100North Dakota 1,458 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCass County value
Days with unhealthy air · high3.0%
12/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCass County value
Preventable hospital stays · high3,309 /100k
26/100North Dakota 3,048 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCass County value
Public transit commuters · low0.0%
27/100North Dakota 0.3%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Violent crime rate · high305 /100k
30/100North Dakota 238 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCass County value
Public libraries · low0.3 /10k
31/100North Dakota 1.2 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesCass County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,741 (2015-2019) → 4,588 (2020-2024)
+67%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
96.1 /1k (2021) → 34.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−64%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
24.1% (2015-2019) → 33.3% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Average commute timeWorsening
20.1 min (2015-2019) → 29.4 min (2020-2024)
+46%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.3× (2015-2019) → 3.0× (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Child poverty rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 4.7% (2020-2024)
+4.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Horace, North Dakota improved on 0 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Horace, North Dakota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.1 min2015-2019	29.4 min2020-2024	+9.2 min	Within the margin of error	3%
Bachelor's degree or higher	47.5%2015-2019	45.0%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Broadband subscriptions	92.6%2015-2019	96.8%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Effective property tax rate	1.06%2015-2019	1.04%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	19%
High school diploma or higher	96.4%2015-2019	96.6%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	37%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4242015-2019	0.4302020-2024	+0.006	Within the margin of error	45%
Median household income	$129,2312015-2019	$138,5782020-2024	+7.2%	Within the margin of error	14%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Horace, North Dakota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Horace, 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, Horace, North Dakota itself moved −11.2 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

4,588 residents (±31)

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

1,650 households (±122)

Horace, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Under $25k5.8%†95
$25k–50k8.1%†133
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,650 households (±122)

Horace, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Own94%1,558
Rent5.6%†92

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† 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

2,566 workers (±230)

Horace, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Drive alone84%2,150
Carpool5.7%†147
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Fargo, ND-MN

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 Cass County, the county holding most of Horace's residents.

Cass County has 5,988 employer establishments, 303 for every 10,000 residents (1.22× the US rate of 248; 0.94× North Dakota's), with 113,306 paid employees at an average annual pay of $63,014. The Census Bureau also counts 15,676 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,988; 15,676 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 303; US 248 · North Dakota 323
Paid employees: 113,306
Average annual pay: $63,014; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	505	25.6	1.65×More than typical	5,510	$82,591	728
Ambulatory health care services	402	20.4	0.98×About typical	6,980	$82,588	623
Restaurants and other eating places	338	17.1	0.93×About typical	7,581	$22,330	58
Lessors of real estate	333	16.9	1.37×More than typical	2,125	$59,938	2,690
Construction of buildings	204	10.3	1.37×More than typical	1,496	$78,054	283
Services to buildings and dwellings	187	9.5	1.41×More than typical	1,361	$39,755	726
Offices of other health practitioners	186	9.4	1.55×More than typical	1,057	$50,159	263
Building equipment contractors	180	9.1	1.52×More than typical	2,462	$78,826	94
Truck transportation	154	7.8	1.54×More than typical	2,544	$62,186	476
Personal care services	152	7.7	1.61×More than typical	691	$35,197	615
Real estate agents and brokers	151	7.7	1.57×More than typical	243	$60,387	408
Limited-service restaurants	147	7.4	0.93×About typical	2,841	$20,467	15

Rank places for an industry Open Cass County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 197,325 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

In FY2026, an estimated $1.9M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Horace, North Dakota: $407 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.9M; −66% vs FY2025
Per resident: $407; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.2%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$1.9M100%

Top recipients

HSG PARK JOINT VENTURE 2, LLC$1.5M83%
THDR JOINT VENTURE$421.2K23%
HENDRICKSON TRANSPORTATION LLC$190K10%
TUNHEIM CONSTRUCTION, LLC$10.2K0.5%
TERRACON CONSULTANTS, INC.$7,7780.4%
BRAUN INTERTEC CORP$3,8130.2%
RED BISON SERVICES, LLC$00.0%
AMERICAN ENGINEERING TESTING INC-$1,3100.0%

Spending by fiscal year

30.7KFY2017
3.6KFY2018
12.8KFY2021
1.6MFY2022
273.8KFY2023
10.6MFY2024
5.5MFY2025
1.9MFY2026

Top industries (NAICS)

Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$1.4M77%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$431.5K23%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Horace, North Dakota, so they do not add up across cities.

Horace, North Dakota's figures are part of those of Cass County, ND ($447M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.4% of that total.

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

See federal money in Cass 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.

Horace, 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.

Cass County95100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Fargo, ND-MN95

Other cities and towns in Cass 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/3838900

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends