Prices, pay, taxes, homes and family budgets, county by county, from the same official data the site's calculators use.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures price levels in every state against a national average of 100. North Dakota scores 89.0 overall, so a $75,000 salary at average US prices buys what $66,719 buys here. Compare any salary with another state.
| Price level | North Dakota (US = 100) | Rank, most expensive first |
|---|---|---|
| Everything | 89.0 | 44th of 51 |
| Rents | 71.4 | 39th of 51 |
| Goods | 95.7 | — |
| Other services | 91.2 | — |
Home electricity averaged 11.51 cents a kilowatt-hour in 2024, against 17.06 across all states. A gallon of regular gas cost $3.97 at the end of August 2026, against $4.12.
Across all 429,430 jobs the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts in North Dakota, the median pay is $52,480 a year, or $25.23 an hour; that ranks 18th of the 50 states and DC. One worker in ten earns less than $31,330 and one in ten more than $103,160.
North Dakota taxes wages in brackets, with a top rate of 2.5% (using its 2025 tables, the latest the site has). The brackets in North Dakota. A single filer on the median $52,480, with no retirement or health deductions, takes home about $44,270 a year, or $1,703 every two weeks, after $4,118 of federal income tax, $4,015 of Social Security and Medicare and $78 of state income tax. Work out your own paycheck in North Dakota.
The five occupations employing the most people, with their median annual pay:
| Occupation | Jobs | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 11,870 | $60,910 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 11,470 | $30,080 |
| Registered Nurses | 11,340 | $80,730 |
| Retail Salespersons | 11,320 | $36,040 |
| General and Operations Managers | 11,150 | $98,170 |
Of the 20 largest occupations, the best paid are general and operations managers ($98,170), registered nurses ($80,730), accountants and auditors ($75,730). See what common jobs pay in every state.
Across the 43 North Dakota counties with their own Zillow home value, the median typical home is worth $197,992, and across the 11 with their own rent figure the median typical rent is $1,212 a month. A typical home costs 2.06 years of the county's median family income, at the median county.
With 10% down at 7.03%, the average 30-year rate on September 24, 2026, that home costs about $1,624 a month with tax, insurance and mortgage insurance, which takes $69,585 a year of income under the usual 28% guideline. The median family can afford its own county's typical home in 83.7% of North Dakota's counties, against 44.9% of counties nationally. Try it with your own income.
At the median county, home values changed +6.5% over the past year and +12.8% over five years, and rents +3.6% over the past year.
The most expensive North Dakota counties are Dunn County ($376,976), Burleigh County ($375,562) and McKenzie County ($374,327); the least expensive are Eddy County ($109,577), Sheridan County ($115,209) and Towner County ($119,177).
The Economic Policy Institute prices what a modest but adequate standard of living costs in every county: housing, food, transport, healthcare, childcare, other necessities and taxes. In the median North Dakota county, that comes to $45,536 a year for one adult and $99,499 for two adults and two children, of which $18,051 is childcare. The national averages are $47,367 and $101,771. Median family income in the median county is $97,283.
| Two adults, two children | Per year, median county | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $11,136 | $928 |
| Food | $11,849 | $987 |
| Transportation | $21,933 | $1,828 |
| Healthcare | $18,804 | $1,567 |
| Childcare | $18,051 | $1,504 |
| Other necessities | $7,292 | $608 |
| Taxes | $10,580 | $882 |
Each line is its own median across counties, so the lines do not add up exactly to the total.
The Department of Education's College Scorecard lists 26 colleges in North Dakota, 14 of them public. The median public college reports a cost of attendance of $17,998 a year, covering tuition, housing, books and other expenses. Ten years after enrolling, the median school's former students earn $44,017. Compare degrees and schools.
| Adams County | $142,658 | +2.2% | — | $103,365 | $100,204 |
| Barnes County | $200,403 | +6.5% | — | $95,231 | $96,483 |
| Benson County | $146,322 | +3.2% | — | $72,933 | $97,145 |
| Billings County | — | — | — | $97,891 | $105,448 |
| Bottineau County | $213,484 | +10.4% | — | $103,190 | $101,348 |
| Bowman County | $189,702 | +7.7% | — | $98,750 | $103,632 |
| Burke County | $133,460 | −0.3% | — | $117,171 | $104,609 |
| Burleigh County | $375,562 | +5.3% | $1,353 | $113,220 | $98,403 |
| Cass County | $341,064 | +3.8% | $1,105 | $109,357 | $94,976 |
| Cavalier County | $166,637 | +11.9% | — | $97,431 | $98,954 |
| Dickey County | $181,596 | +13.5% | — | $90,670 | $98,265 |
| Divide County | — | — | — | $112,717 | $117,952 |
| Dunn County | $376,976 | +12.2% | — | $127,656 | $106,168 |
| Eddy County | $109,577 | −3.9% | — | $83,587 | $95,461 |
| Emmons County | $157,228 | +14.2% | — | $91,452 | $99,316 |
| Foster County | $186,999 | +7.7% | — | $112,837 | $98,086 |
| Golden Valley County | $183,320 | +4.1% | — | $95,750 | $101,913 |
| Grand Forks County | $298,680 | +7.6% | $1,182 | $97,849 | $96,885 |
| Grant County | — | — | — | $82,361 | $100,424 |
| Griggs County | $131,831 | −8.5% | — | $92,500 | $97,754 |
| Hettinger County | $150,571 | +28.6% | — | $97,125 | $103,070 |
| Kidder County | $203,154 | +4.4% | — | $82,600 | $100,248 |
| LaMoure County | $141,215 | −3.4% | — | $97,283 | $98,609 |
| Logan County | — | — | — | $74,453 | $102,386 |
| McHenry County | $156,503 | +4.7% | — | $97,155 | $102,423 |
| McIntosh County | — | — | — | $79,423 | $97,428 |
| McKenzie County | $374,327 | +6.9% | $1,321 | $113,550 | $112,034 |
| McLean County | $226,405 | +5.0% | — | $104,509 | $99,576 |
| Mercer County | $242,358 | +4.9% | — | $102,879 | $104,617 |
| Morton County | $329,002 | +6.5% | $1,364 | $108,167 | $102,288 |
| Mountrail County | $229,355 | +6.9% | $1,207 | $97,837 | $99,454 |
| Nelson County | $156,665 | +8.9% | — | $97,708 | $97,109 |
| Oliver County | $257,452 | +7.3% | — | $97,917 | $96,976 |
| Pembina County | $144,636 | +8.4% | — | $90,717 | $100,421 |
| Pierce County | — | — | — | $94,375 | $97,170 |
| Ramsey County | $232,535 | +7.5% | — | $92,933 | $93,458 |
| Ransom County | $197,992 | +7.8% | — | $96,250 | $99,499 |
| Renville County | $191,418 | +10.6% | — | $86,111 | $104,784 |
| Richland County | $233,047 | +4.9% | $876 | $101,910 | $96,362 |
| Rolette County | — | — | — | $65,508 | $97,184 |
| Sargent County | $200,461 | +3.2% | — | $97,000 | $100,681 |
| Sheridan County | $115,209 | −11.1% | — | $92,500 | $100,342 |
| Sioux County | — | — | — | $42,500 | $96,829 |
| Slope County | — | — | — | $79,250 | $104,856 |
| Stark County | $325,026 | +4.3% | $1,277 | $101,162 | $101,337 |
| Steele County | — | — | — | $102,708 | $100,583 |
| Stutsman County | $229,196 | +7.6% | $1,212 | $102,606 | $95,140 |
| Towner County | $119,177 | +8.0% | — | $90,521 | $100,248 |
| Traill County | $226,386 | +7.3% | — | $112,823 | $95,805 |
| Walsh County | $168,218 | +4.4% | — | $87,642 | $96,942 |
| Ward County | $284,927 | +3.6% | $1,189 | $103,964 | $98,270 |
| Wells County | $129,109 | −2.7% | — | $84,911 | $99,123 |
| Williams County | $356,629 | +5.8% | $1,259 | $104,598 | $104,790 |
A dash means the source publishes no figure for that county. Home values and rents are Zillow's own county figures only; counties Zillow does not cover are left blank rather than filled with a state average.
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Cost of living · Income tax · Child care costs
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County figures are medians across North Dakota's counties, each counting once, so they describe the spread of places rather than of people. Property tax and insurance vary widely; the calculators let you use your own.