PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Fargo, ND-MN

57.2
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#90
of 387 metros
77%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Fargo ranks #90 of 387 US metros, ahead of 77% - carried by its rent (78/100) and held back most by schools (3/100).

78
strongest: Rent
71
then: Cost of Living
3
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Fargo sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

57 Top 23% higher than 77% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). This entry sits in this band. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Fargo Life Score

Fargo's composite score of 57.2 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #90 of 387, ahead of 77% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (78/100) and Cost of Living (71/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (3/100) and Environment (29/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 90.9 (rent-RPP 81.1). BLS median salary $69,516, 142,800 jobs (Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,112/mo (studio $768).

FBI UCR (ND): 257 violent, 1706 property/100K. NCES: 11.8:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,925/yr. EPA: 2 Superfund sites (ND). Ranks #87-#93 below.

Dimension detail

How Fargo scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 71/100 (20%)
Wages 69/100 (20%)
Rent 78/100 (15%)
Safety 67/100 (15%)
Schools 3/100 (10%)
Childcare 44/100 (10%)
Environment 29/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

90.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$69,516
Avg Median Salary
$1,112
2BR Fair Market Rent
257
Violent Crime/100K (ND)
11.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$10,925
Infant Childcare/yr (ND)
2
Superfund Sites (ND)
142,800
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Fargo With...

Fargo vs Minot Compare → Fargo vs Grand Forks Compare → Fargo vs Bismarck Compare → Fargo vs Wildwood Compare → Fargo vs Waterloo Compare → Fargo vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Fargo outranks 77% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#87 Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA 57.4 B+
#88 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 57.6 B+
#89 Valdosta, GA 57.7 B+
#90 Fargo, ND-MN 57.2 B+
#91 Rapid City, SD 57.2 B+
#92 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC 57.2 B+
#93 Wilmington, NC 57.2 B+

ND Metro Scores

Minot, ND A 63.2 Grand Forks, ND-MN A 62.5 Bismarck, ND B 54.0

Using Fargo's Life Score

Fargo is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is rent (78/100) and its weakest is schools (3/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Fargo head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Fargo lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Fargo's biggest strengths? ▼
Fargo's strongest dimensions are Rent (78/100), Cost of Living (71/100), Wages (69/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Fargo's weakest areas? ▼
Fargo's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (3/100), Environment (29/100), Childcare (44/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Fargo compared to the national average? ▼
Fargo's Regional Price Parity is 90.9 (9.1% less than national); rent RPP 81.1.
What is the average salary in Fargo? ▼
Fargo median salary: $69,516, 142,800 jobs. Top: Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Fargo's 57.2/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.