Bismarck composite
57.6 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Bismarck vs Grand Forks
Bismarck, ND and Grand Forks, ND-MN side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 57.6
- Bismarck Life Score
- B+
- Bismarck grade
- 61.2
- Grand Forks Life Score
- A
- Grand Forks grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Bismarck scores higher on 3 (wages, safety, childcare) and Grand Forks on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Bismarck Grand Forks ◗
cost of living
69
92
wages
78
61
rent
68
84
safety
73
73
schools
3
4
childcare
44
44
environment
22
22
Bismarck and Grand Forks differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Bismarck has a cost-of-living index of 91.0 vs Grand Forks's 86.7 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $70,851 in Bismarck and $66,228 in Grand Forks. A 2-bedroom averages $1,175/mo vs $1,089/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Bismarck vs Grand Forks Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Bismarck and Grand Forks works out to $1,032 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Bismarck carries the same local purchasing power as $95,209 in Grand Forks - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 256.7 per 100,000 residents in ND vs 256.7 in ND, with property-crime rates of 1705.7 and 1705.7 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: ND lists 499 public schools at a 10.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while ND lists 499 schools at 10.8:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $10,925/yr in the Bismarck area versus $10,925/yr in Grand Forks - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Bismarck and Grand Forks are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Grand Forks composite
61.2 /100
Grade A · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
1 pts
Grand Forks cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
1 pts
Bismarck safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Bismarck
Bismarck composite (Grade B+)
Grand Forks
Grand Forks composite (Grade A)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Bismarck | Grand Forks |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 91.0 | 86.7 |
| Goods | 95.7 | 95.6 |
| Services | 75.0 | 77.1 |
| Rents | 84.0 | 59.7 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Grand Forks gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Bismarck?
$
Equivalent in Grand Forks:
$95,209
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Bismarck: 91.0, Grand Forks: 86.7, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Bismarck | Grand Forks |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $961/mo | $863/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,030/mo | $868/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,175/mo | $1,089/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,634/mo | $1,515/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,884/mo | $1,827/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Bismarck | Grand Forks |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $70,851 | $66,228 |
| Total Employment | 64,970 | 46,030 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Bismarck (ND) | Grand Forks (ND) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 256.7 | 256.7 |
| Property Crime | 1705.7 | 1705.7 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | ND | ND |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 499 | 499 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 10.8:1 | 10.8:1 |
| Charter Schools | 0.0% | 0.0% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | ND | ND |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $10,925/yr | $10,925/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $9,978/yr | $9,978/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $9,249/yr | $9,249/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | ND | ND |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 104 | 104 |
| Water Systems | 318 | 318 |
| Superfund Sites | 2 | 2 |
| Water Violations | 185 | 185 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Bismarck | Grand Forks |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 40.0 | 37.9 |
| Good Air Days | 76.7% | 79.3% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 13 days | N/A |
Grand Forks air quality shown at state level. Bismarck has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | ND | ND |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 8/100 | 8/100 |
| Total Violations | 13,624 | 13,624 |
| Health-Based Violations | 2,673 | 2,673 |
| Systems with Violations | 94.0% | 94.0% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | ND | ND |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 45/100 | 45/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 54.8% | 54.8% |
| HPSA Designations | 207 | 207 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | ND | ND |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 100/100 | 100/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 22.2 | 22.2 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 25.3 | 25.3 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bismarck more expensive than Grand Forks? ▼
Bismarck has a cost of living index of 91.0 compared to Grand Forks's 86.7 (national average = 100). Bismarck is 4.4 points above Grand Forks on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Bismarck and Grand Forks? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,175/mo in Bismarck vs $1,089/mo in Grand Forks, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $961/mo to $863/mo.
How do salaries compare between Bismarck and Grand Forks? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $70,851 in Bismarck and $66,228 in Grand Forks, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Bismarck has the same purchasing power as $95,209 in Grand Forks.
Is Bismarck or Grand Forks safer? ▼
At the state level, ND has a violent crime rate of 256.7 per 100,000 residents compared to ND's 256.7 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1705.7 vs 1705.7 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Bismarck and Grand Forks? ▼
ND has 499 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 10.8:1, while ND has 499 schools at 10.8:1. Charter schools make up 0.0% of ND schools vs 0.0% in ND. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare