City · Pierce County, North Dakota

Rugby, North Dakota

Rugby is a city in Pierce County, North Dakota. It has 2,481 residents. Rugby, North Dakota has a quality-of-life score of 85 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,294 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Dakota it ranks #34 of 56 cities and towns. It ranks best on pharmacies (high), average commute time (low) and loneliness (low). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), flu vaccinations (low) and preventable hospital stays (high).

85Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,294 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Dakota: #34 of 56 in ND
Population: 2,481 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,072.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 3868860

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.

Safety93#1,139/15,637
Economy41#9,273/15,631
Housing98#354/14,977
Health58#6,621/15,609
Healthcare30#11,020/15,650
Environment100#18/15,453
Education78#3,385/15,649
Infrastructure48#8,162/15,650
Community89#1,767/15,651
Leisure & amenities84#2,494/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Pharmacies · high5.2 /10k
100/100North Dakota 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPierce County value
Average commute time · low11.4 min
100/100North Dakota 17.9 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Loneliness · low29.4%
100/100North Dakota 29.8%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100North Dakota 13.0 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionPierce County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100North Dakota 12.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataPierce County value
Dentists · high128 /100k
98/100North Dakota 70 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePierce County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high177 mi
1/100North Dakota 136 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauPierce County value
Flu vaccinations · low23.0%
2/100North Dakota 45.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePierce County value
Preventable hospital stays · high4,753 /100k
3/100North Dakota 3,048 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePierce County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100North Dakota 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPierce County value
Mental health providers · low52 /100k
6/100North Dakota 261 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePierce County value
Primary care physicians · low25 /100k
9/100North Dakota 79 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePierce County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,724 (2015-2019) → 2,481 (2020-2024)
−8.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
55.0% (2015-2019) → 40.8% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
39.8% (2015-2019) → 26.1% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.4% (2015-2019) → 88.0% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
32.1% (2015-2019) → 20.2% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
21.7% (2015-2019) → 30.3% (2020-2024)
+8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Rugby, North Dakota improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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

Bachelor's++8.5 points21.7% → 30.3%
Broadband+13 points75.4% → 88.0%

Declined1

Uninsured+7 points4.5% → 11.5%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Rugby, North Dakota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	11.7 min2015-2019	11.4 min2020-2024	−0.4 min	Within the margin of error	52%
Bachelor's degree or higher	21.7%2015-2019	30.3%2020-2024	+8.5 points	Improved	86%
Broadband subscriptions	75.4%2015-2019	88.0%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	71%
Effective property tax rate	1.12%2015-2019	1.14%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	14%
High school diploma or higher	92.1%2015-2019	92.1%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	86%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4592015-2019	0.4182020-2024	−0.041	Within the margin of error	80%
Median household income	$46,5522015-2019	$50,3652020-2024	+8.2%	Within the margin of error	15%
Poverty rate	19.9%2015-2019	13.0%2020-2024	−6.9 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	39.8%2015-2019	26.1%2020-2024	−14 points	Within the margin of error	96%
Rent-burdened households	55.0%2015-2019	40.8%2020-2024	−14 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.5%2015-2019	11.5%2020-2024	+7 points	Declined	6%

“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 Rugby, North Dakota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Rugby, 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, Rugby, North Dakota itself moved +14.6 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

2,481 residents (±214)

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

1,237 households (±115)

Rugby, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Under $25k16%†196
$25k–50k34%†419
$50k–75k12%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,237 households (±115)

Rugby, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Own74%919
Rent26%318

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

1,228 workers (±155)

Rugby, North Dakota
North Dakota share

Drive alone87%1,065
Carpool4.9%†60
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 Pierce County, the county holding most of Rugby's residents.

Pierce County has 160 employer establishments, 409 for every 10,000 residents (1.65× the US rate of 248; 1.27× North Dakota's), with 1,349 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,696. The Census Bureau also counts 326 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 160; 326 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 409; US 248 · North Dakota 323
Paid employees: 1,349
Average annual pay: $44,696; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	13	33.2	2.15×More than typical	48	$53,854	38
Restaurants and other eating places	8	20.4	1.11×Too few to compare	86	$14,128	—
Truck transportation	8	20.4	4.04×Too few to compare	28	$51,893	13
Building equipment contractors	7	17.9	2.97×Too few to compare	26	$37,692	4
Construction of buildings	7	17.9	2.37×Too few to compare	21	$45,095	16
Banks and credit unions	6	15.3	4.75×Too few to compare	37	$68,351	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	6	15.3	3.49×Too few to compare	15	$52,800	6
Automotive repair and maintenance	5	12.8	2.54×Too few to compare	17	$37,118	6
Electrical contractors and wiring installation	5	12.8	5.16×Too few to compare	16	$26,875	—
Full-service restaurants	5	12.8	1.66×Too few to compare	58	$14,414	—
Religious organizations	5	12.8	2.30×Too few to compare	12	$21,250	—
Ambulatory health care services	4	10.2	0.49×Too few to compare	20	$62,350	14

Rank places for an industry Open Pierce County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 3,912 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: Rugby is mostly in Pierce County.

See federal money in Pierce 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.

Rugby, 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.

Pierce County95100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Pierce 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
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/3868860

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends