City · Ward County, North Dakota

Minot, North Dakota

Minot is a city in Ward County, North Dakota, part of the Minot, ND metro area. It has 47,791 residents. Minot, North Dakota has a quality-of-life score of 86 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,226 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Dakota it ranks #31 of 56 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent-burdened households (low), distance to an Amtrak station (low) and loneliness (low). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), suicide rate (high) and days with unhealthy air (high).

86Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,226 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Dakota: #31 of 56 in ND
Population: 47,791 (2020-2024)
Land area: 28 mi²
Density: 1,721.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 3853380

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.

Safety47#8,357/15,637
Economy51#7,662/15,631
Housing90#1,435/14,977
Health68#5,032/15,609
Healthcare71#4,555/15,650
Environment97#416/15,453
Education74#4,123/15,649
Infrastructure61#6,131/15,650
Community78#3,379/15,651
Leisure & amenities84#2,462/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Rent-burdened households · low37.5%
99/100North Dakota 38.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Distance to an Amtrak station · low4 mi
98/100North Dakota 41 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWard County value
Loneliness · low30.8%
98/100North Dakota 29.8%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Rent as share of income · low24.3%
97/100North Dakota 25.0%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Natural hazard risk · low3.0
96/100North Dakota 37.12025Federal Emergency Management AgencyWard County value
High school diploma or higher · high94.3%
96/100North Dakota 94.0%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high229 mi
0/100North Dakota 136 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWard County value
Suicide rate · high26.3 /100k
7/100North Dakota 19.8 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWard County value
Days with unhealthy air · high3.3%
12/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWard County value
Voter turnout · low56.5%
14/100North Dakota 63.9%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionWard County value
New business applications · low9.1 /1k
16/100North Dakota 11.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauWard County value
Firearm deaths · high17.6 /100k
24/100North Dakota 13.0 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWard County value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
86.0% (2015-2019) → 89.4% (2020-2024)
+3.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.2× (2015-2019) → 3.5× (2020-2024)
+11%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$66,194 (2015-2019) → $73,219 (2020-2024)
+11%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
11.9% (2015-2019) → 9.8% (2020-2024)
−2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.419 (2015-2019) → 0.456 (2020-2024)
+8.9%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Average commute timeWorsening
18.5 min (2015-2019) → 19.7 min (2020-2024)
+6.6%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Minot, North Dakota improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 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

Broadband+3.4 points86.0% → 89.4%
Household income+11%$66,194 → $73,219

Declined2

Inequality+0.0370.419 → 0.456
Price / income+0.4×3.2× → 3.5×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Minot, North Dakota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.5 min2015-2019	19.7 min2020-2024	+1.2 min	Within the margin of error	34%
Bachelor's degree or higher	30.7%2015-2019	29.7%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Broadband subscriptions	86.0%2015-2019	89.4%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Improved	22%
Child poverty rate	11.9%2015-2019	9.8%2020-2024	−2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Effective property tax rate	1.05%2015-2019	1.19%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	5%
High school diploma or higher	93.2%2015-2019	94.3%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	+0.4×	Declined	57%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4192015-2019	0.4562020-2024	+0.037	Declined	22%
Median household income	$66,1942015-2019	$73,2192020-2024	+11%	Improved	17%
Poverty rate	10.9%2015-2019	11.1%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Rent as share of income	24.6%2015-2019	24.3%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Rent-burdened households	38.8%2015-2019	37.5%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Unemployment rate	2.7%2015-2019	3.4%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.2%2015-2019	7.8%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	51%

“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 Minot, North Dakota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Minot, 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, Minot, North Dakota itself moved −8.4 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

47,791 residents (±34)

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

21,202 households (±511)

Minot, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Under $25k16%3,422
$25k–50k17%3,599
$50k–75k19%3,964

Homes

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

Owners and renters

21,202 households (±511)

Minot, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Own57%12,020
Rent43%9,182

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

25,680 workers (±709)

Minot, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Drive alone77%19,814
Carpool14%3,470
Public transit0.5%†119

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 Minot, ND

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 Ward County, the county holding most of Minot's residents.

Ward County has 2,043 employer establishments, 299 for every 10,000 residents (1.21× the US rate of 248; 0.93× North Dakota's), with 24,723 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,172. The Census Bureau also counts 4,965 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,043; 4,965 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 299; US 248 · North Dakota 323
Paid employees: 24,723
Average annual pay: $56,172; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	177	25.9	1.68×More than typical	997	$87,200	314
Restaurants and other eating places	125	18.3	1.00×About typical	2,470	$23,993	19
Ambulatory health care services	124	18.2	0.87×About typical	1,281	$68,691	241
Lessors of real estate	86	12.6	1.02×About typical	379	$51,391	679
Truck transportation	84	12.3	2.43×More than typical	384	$66,177	119
Offices of other health practitioners	73	10.7	1.76×More than typical	292	$50,318	92
Building equipment contractors	69	10.1	1.68×More than typical	590	$80,688	41
Limited-service restaurants	59	8.6	1.08×About typical	1,248	$22,469	9
Automotive repair and maintenance	56	8.2	1.63×More than typical	443	$51,966	73
Construction of buildings	55	8.1	1.07×About typical	317	$55,091	128
Insurance agencies and brokerages	52	7.6	1.74×More than typical	136	$71,882	107
Religious organizations	52	7.6	1.37×More than typical	390	$27,215	—

Rank places for an industry Open Ward County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 68,228 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 $1.1M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Minot, North Dakota: $23.49 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.1M; +7.1% vs FY2025
Per resident: $23.49; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.6%; US 30%
Single offer: 3.9%; 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

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management$806K72%
Federal Highway Administration$181.5K16%
Agricultural Marketing Service$49.4K4.4%
Department of the Army$49.3K4.4%
Department of the Air Force$41.5K3.7%
Federal Aviation Administration$7,7890.7%
Public Buildings Service$2,9250.3%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$7440.1%

Top recipients

HUMAN LEARNING SYSTEMS LLC$806K72%
MCKENZIE CONSTRUCTION & SITE DEVELOPMENT LLC$169.7K15%
TRINITY PACKAGING LLC$49.4K4.4%
ATECH INC$31.5K2.8%
ATLANTIC DIVING SUPPLY, INC.$17.8K1.6%

Spending by fiscal year

2.3MFY2017
1.9MFY2018
2.2MFY2019
3.4MFY2020
1.9MFY2021
2.4MFY2022
2.2MFY2023
1.4M

Top industries (NAICS)

Technical and trade schools · 6115$806K72%
Highway, street, and bridge construction · 2373$169.7K15%
Other food manufacturing · 3119$49.4K4.4%
Electrical equipment manufacturing · 3353$31.5K2.8%
Cut and sew apparel manufacturing · 3152$20.3K1.8%
Other textile product mills · 3149$17.8K1.6%

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 Minot, North Dakota, so they do not add up across cities.

Minot, North Dakota's figures are part of those of Ward County, ND ($69.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.6% of that total.

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

See federal money in Ward 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.

Minot, 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.

Ward County96100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Minot, ND94

Other cities and towns in Ward 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/3853380

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends