Best Cities for Young Professionals in North Dakota

High incomes, educated peers, transit access and an under-35 demographic.

Retirees Remote Workers Families Young Professionals Affordability All Rankings →
All United States  ·  North Dakota

How We Score

Each metric is normalized 0-100 across U.S. cities, then weighted and summed. Cities missing any metric are excluded.

Income · 20% Educated Peers · 15% Young Demographic · 15% Jobs · 15% Transit · 10% Safety · 10% Broadband · 15%

Top 12 Young Professionals Cities in North Dakota

Ranked by composite score across 7 weighted metrics.

#1
Score 69.5
West Fargo, ND
39,325 residents
Income $96,877
Educated Peers 45.2%
Young Demographic 33 yrs
#2
Score 62.5
Surrey, ND
1,672 residents
Income $105,125
Educated Peers 28.8%
Young Demographic 36 yrs
#3
Score 55
Stanley, ND
2,089 residents
Income $105,893
Educated Peers 23.3%
Young Demographic 36 yrs
#4
Score 53.7
Grand Forks, ND
58,882 residents
Income $63,838
Educated Peers 39.2%
Young Demographic 29 yrs
#5
Score 53
Lincoln, ND
4,309 residents
Income $83,387
Educated Peers 18.3%
Young Demographic 31 yrs
#6
Score 51.5
Carrington, ND
2,171 residents
Income $65,469
Educated Peers 30.9%
Young Demographic 40 yrs
#7
Score 51.5
Bowman, ND
1,523 residents
Income $70,859
Educated Peers 32.3%
Young Demographic 41 yrs
#8
Score 50.5
Mandan, ND
24,293 residents
Income $75,966
Educated Peers 30.6%
Young Demographic 36 yrs
#9
Score 50.2
Fargo, ND
129,064 residents
Income $66,029
Educated Peers 43.2%
Young Demographic 32 yrs
#10
Score 50.2
Bismarck, ND
74,146 residents
Income $77,608
Educated Peers 38.7%
Young Demographic 38 yrs
#11
Score 48.5
Rugby, ND
2,555 residents
Income $50,580
Educated Peers 31.2%
Young Demographic 40 yrs
#12
Score 48.3
Williston, ND
27,964 residents
Income $84,309
Educated Peers 25.7%
Young Demographic 32 yrs

Full Ranking, North Dakota

Top 27 cities. Click any city to see its full profile.

1 West Fargo ND 69.5
2 Surrey ND 62.5
3 Stanley ND 55
4 Grand Forks ND 53.7
5 Lincoln ND 53
6 Carrington ND 51.5
7 Bowman ND 51.5
8 Mandan ND 50.5
9 Fargo ND 50.2
10 Bismarck ND 50.2
11 Rugby ND 48.5
12 Williston ND 48.3
13 Minot ND 48
14 Hazen ND 48
15 Dickinson ND 47.7
16 Beulah ND 47.5
17 Tioga ND 44.2
18 Wahpeton ND 43.8
19 Kenmare ND 43.5
20 Devils Lake ND 40.4
21 New Town ND 39.7
22 Grafton ND 38.5
23 Harvey ND 38.2
24 Lisbon ND 37.8
25 Jamestown ND 37.8
26 Rolla ND 33.6
27 Cavalier ND 30.7

West Fargo, ND tops the list with a composite score of 69.5 out of 100, followed by Surrey and Stanley. ND dominates the top 12 with 12 cities, reflecting strong performance across the weighted metrics for young professionals.

Rankings combine 7 independent metrics: Income, Educated Peers, Young Demographic, Jobs, Transit, Safety, Broadband. Cities are weighted to reflect what matters most to young professionals, and any city missing one or more metrics is excluded to avoid artificially inflated rankings.

Explore Other Best Cities Rankings

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Related Single-Metric Rankings

Highest Income → Most Educated → Youngest Cities →