Metro Life Score
Minot, ND
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade B+, 76th percentile of the national corpus.
- 56.4
- Life Score / 100
- B+
- Grade (curved)
- #91
- of 387 metros
- 76%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Minot is top-quartile composite Life Score — #91 of 387 (56.4/100, grade B+, 76th percentile). Carried by rent at 92/100; held back most by schools at 6/100.
- 76th
- composite percentile
- #91
- of 387 peers
- 91st
- cost dimension percentile
- 31st
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature cost
Minot: affordability leads the Life Score story
Minot is a UPPER-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 91st percentile of 387 US metros (FLOOR) while composite is #91 (56.4/100, grade B+). Rent at 92/100 carries the upside; Schools at 6/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Minot, ND ranks #91 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #34 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 87.0 (rent-RPP 63.2). BLS median salary $61,219, 28,000 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,000/mo (studio $725).
FBI UCR (ND): 257 violent, 1706 property/100K. NCES: 10.8:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,925/yr. EPA: 2 Superfund sites (ND).
Where Minot sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
56 Top 24% higher than 76% of 387 US metros
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 · August 2026
How the 56.4 is built
Minot's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Minot scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are ND state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Minot With...
Ranking Context
Minot outranks 76% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #88 | Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC | 56.6 | B+ |
| #89 | Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA | 56.7 | B+ |
| #90 | Mansfield, OH | 56.7 | B+ |
| #91 | Minot, ND | 56.4 | B+ |
| #92 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 56.3 | B+ |
| #93 | Oshkosh-Neenah, WI | 56.0 | B+ |
| #94 | Tulsa, OK | 56.0 | B+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Minot, ND's quality rank (top 24% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 9% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
ND Metro Scores
Read with Minot
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Minot (UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
ABS(composite) peer at 56.3 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 56.6 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Mansfield, OH
ABS(composite) peer at 56.7 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA
ABS(composite) peer at 56.7 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Laredo, TX (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 92/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 91/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Minot, ND relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Minot's top-third Life Score
Minot scores 56.4/100 overall, but Rent (92.5) and Schools (5.7) sit 86.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Minot's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Schools is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Grand Forks is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Grand Forks
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.