PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Minot, ND

63.2
Life Score / 100
A
Grade (curved)
#27
of 387 metros
93%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Minot ranks #27 of 387 US metros, ahead of 93% - carried by its rent (92/100) and held back most by schools (4/100).

92
strongest: Rent
91
then: Cost of Living
4
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Minot sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

63 Top 7% higher than 93% 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%). Below this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Minot Life Score

Minot's composite score of 63.2 out of 100, a grade of A, places the metro at rank #27 of 387, ahead of 93% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (92/100) and Cost of Living (91/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (4/100) and Childcare (44/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 11.8:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,925/yr. EPA: 2 Superfund sites (ND). Ranks #24-#30 below.

Dimension detail

How Minot scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 91/100 (20%)
Wages 52/100 (20%)
Rent 92/100 (15%)
Safety 66/100 (15%)
Schools 4/100 (10%)
Childcare 44/100 (10%)
Environment 60/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

87.0
Cost Index (RPP)
$61,219
Avg Median Salary
$1,000
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)
28,000
Total Employment

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

Compare Minot With...

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

Ranking Context

Minot outranks 93% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#24 Rochester, MN 63.4 A
#25 Owensboro, KY 63.4 A
#26 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 63.4 A
#27 Minot, ND 63.2 A
#28 Pocatello, ID 63.0 A
#29 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 62.9 A
#30 Midland, MI 62.6 A

ND Metro Scores

Grand Forks, ND-MN A 62.5 Fargo, ND-MN B+ 57.2 Bismarck, ND B 54.0

Using Minot's Life Score

Minot 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 (92/100) and its weakest is schools (4/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Minot head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Minot 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 Minot's biggest strengths? ▼
Minot's strongest dimensions are Rent (92/100), Cost of Living (91/100), Safety (66/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Minot's weakest areas? ▼
Minot's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (4/100), Childcare (44/100), Wages (52/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Minot compared to the national average? ▼
Minot's Regional Price Parity is 87.0 (13.0% less than national); rent RPP 63.2.
What is the average salary in Minot? ▼
Minot median salary: $61,219, 28,000 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Minot's 63.2/100 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.