City · Mountrail County, North Dakota

New Town, North Dakota

New Town is a city in Mountrail County, North Dakota. It has 2,721 residents. New Town, North Dakota has a quality-of-life score of 51 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,633 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Dakota it ranks #52 of 56 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent-burdened households (low), time spent in the emergency room (low) and rent as share of income (low). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), premature death (high) and job growth (low).

51Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,633 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Dakota: #52 of 56 in ND
Population: 2,721 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 942.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 3856740

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.

Safety45#8,608/15,637
Economy31#10,725/15,631
Housing89#1,614/14,977
Health5#14,854/15,609
Healthcare18#12,789/15,650
Environment99#98/15,453
Education40#9,462/15,649
Infrastructure8#14,383/15,650
Community91#1,459/15,651
Leisure & amenities94#1,014/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where New Town, North Dakota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Mountrail 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 · low24.2%
100/100North Dakota 38.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Time spent in the emergency room · low83 min
99/100North Dakota 113 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMountrail County value
Rent as share of income · low20.7%
98/100North Dakota 25.0%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Average commute time · low14.0 min
98/100North Dakota 17.9 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Pharmacies · high3.2 /10k
97/100North Dakota 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMountrail County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,459 /100k
97/100North Dakota 3,048 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMountrail County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high273 mi
0/100North Dakota 136 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMountrail County value
Premature death · high16,644 /100k
2/100North Dakota 7,751 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMountrail County value
Job growth · low-4.6%
2/100North Dakota -0.5%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataMountrail County value
Injury deaths · high150 /100k
3/100North Dakota 80 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMountrail County value
Adult smoking · high23.6%
3/100North Dakota 15.0%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100North Dakota 3.5 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyMountrail County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,525 (2015-2019) → 2,721 (2020-2024)
+7.8%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
1.8 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
60.4% (2015-2019) → 77.4% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.3× (2015-2019) → 4.0× (2020-2024)
+71%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Poverty rateWorsening
16.8% (2015-2019) → 24.0% (2020-2024)
+7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
14.8% (2015-2019) → 20.7% (2020-2024)
+5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, New Town, North Dakota improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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.

Improved1

Broadband+17 points60.4% → 77.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of New Town, North Dakota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	11.7 min2015-2019	14.0 min2020-2024	+2.2 min	Within the margin of error	25%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.4%2015-2019	21.4%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Broadband subscriptions	60.4%2015-2019	77.4%2020-2024	+17 points	Improved	85%
Child poverty rate	19.5%2015-2019	19.0%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	48%
High school diploma or higher	90.4%2015-2019	85.5%2020-2024	−4.9 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	4.0×2020-2024	+1.6×	Within the margin of error	7%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4682015-2019	0.4712020-2024	+0.003	Within the margin of error	47%
Median household income	$59,5832015-2019	$52,5002020-2024	−12%	Within the margin of error	3%
Poverty rate	16.8%2015-2019	24.0%2020-2024	+7.2 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Rent as share of income	14.8%2015-2019	20.7%2020-2024	+5.9 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Rent-burdened households	26.3%2015-2019	24.2%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	26.4%2015-2019	22.1%2020-2024	−4.3 points	Within the margin of error	84%

“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 New Town, North Dakota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of New Town, 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, New Town, North Dakota itself moved −12.6 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

2,721 residents (±15)

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

980 households (±102)

New Town, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Under $25k29%†284
$25k–50k21%†203
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

980 households (±102)

New Town, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Own32%†317
Rent68%663

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−17.3 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

1,039 workers (±181)

New Town, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Drive alone79%820
Carpool18%†184
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 Mountrail County, the county holding most of New Town's residents.

Mountrail County has 363 employer establishments, 386 for every 10,000 residents (1.55× the US rate of 248; 1.19× North Dakota's), with 4,139 paid employees at an average annual pay of $75,069. The Census Bureau also counts 744 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 363; 744 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 386; US 248 · North Dakota 323
Paid employees: 4,139
Average annual pay: $75,069; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	50	53.1	10.5×More than typical	381	$90,703	86
Specialty trade contractors	23	24.4	1.58×More than typical	401	$72,953	49
Management, scientific and technical consulting	15	15.9	2.37×More than typical	71	$87,127	24
Restaurants and other eating places	14	14.9	0.81×About typical	139	$21,928	3
Religious organizations	13	13.8	2.49×More than typical	40	$19,275	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	11	11.7	2.66×More than typical	34	$49,853	13
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	10	10.6	8.76×More than typical	63	$11,778	—
Gasoline stations	10	10.6	3.28×More than typical	230	$39,222	—
Building equipment contractors	9	9.6	1.59×Too few to compare	141	$40,333	6
Automotive repair and maintenance	8	8.5	1.69×Too few to compare	30	$61,900	12
Heavy and civil engineering construction	8	8.5	7.41×Too few to compare	202	$62,861	6
Banks and credit unions	7	7.4	2.30×Too few to compare	55	$66,709	—

Rank places for an industry Open Mountrail County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 9,416 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: New Town is mostly in Mountrail County.

See federal money in Mountrail 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.

New Town, 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.

Mountrail County79100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Mountrail 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/3856740

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends