Safest Places to Live in North Dakota of September 2026
Located in the Midwestern United States region, North Dakota is bordered by Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Canada. It is one of the northernmost states in the contiguous part of the country.
It is the 4th least populous state, with slightly under 780,000 residents. The state’s capital is Bismarck, while the largest city is Fargo, home to around 120,000 people.
North Dakota was admitted into the Union in 1889. In the 21st century, it saw great economic development, mainly thanks to oil extraction.
Ranking Criteria
ElitePersonalFinance extracted the latest data from the FBI crime statistics in the United States. We took violent crime as the main criteria. To get our score, we used this formula:
Crime Score = ( Total Number of Violent Crimes / Population ) * 1,000
This way, safer cities got the lowest score, and those more vulnerable to crimes got higher scores.
The cities that did not report crimes to the FBI and those under 3,000 residents were not included in the list.
10 Safest Places in North Dakota of September 2026
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Lincoln | Population:3 986 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:0,75 |
| Rank:2 | City:Beulah | Population:3 200 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:1,25 |
| Rank:3 | City:West Fargo | Population:38 171 | Total Number of Crimes:55 | Crime Score:1,44 |
| Rank:4 | City:Grafton | Population:4 144 | Total Number of Crimes:6 | Crime Score:1,45 |
| Rank:5 | City:Wahpeton | Population:7 752 | Total Number of Crimes:15 | Crime Score:1,93 |
| Rank:6 | City:Dickinson | Population:23 428 | Total Number of Crimes:52 | Crime Score:2,22 |
| Rank:7 | City:Jamestown | Population:15 198 | Total Number of Crimes:37 | Crime Score:2,43 |
| Rank:8 | City:Minot | Population:48 185 | Total Number of Crimes:130 | Crime Score:2,70 |
| Rank:9 | City:Devils Lake | Population:7 294 | Total Number of Crimes:20 | Crime Score:2,74 |
| Rank:10 | City:Valley City | Population:6 351 | Total Number of Crimes:18 | Crime Score:2,83 |
Crime Score in All Cities in North Dakota of September 2026
If your city didn’t make our list, you could see our full list of North Dakota cities.
We can’t compare crime rates in small and large cities. That’s why ElitePersonalFinance made a detailed analysis and narrowed the results according to population segments:
- Under 3,000 Residents
- 3,000 – 30,000 Residents
- Over 30,000 Residents
(Other sites don’t include places with under 3,000 residents, but we included them.)
These are the results that we got:
Under 3,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Medora | Population:130 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:2 | City:Powers Lake | Population:279 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:3 | City:Fessenden | Population:442 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:4 | City:Emerado | Population:456 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:5 | City:Rolette | Population:599 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:6 | City:Ray | Population:866 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:7 | City:Kenmare | Population:1 010 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:8 | City:Thompson | Population:1 021 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:9 | City:Ellendale | Population:1 223 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:10 | City:Cavalier | Population:1 253 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:11 | City:Surrey | Population:1 445 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:12 | City:Bowman | Population:1 604 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:13 | City:Harvey | Population:1 683 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:14 | City:New Town | Population:2 621 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:15 | City:Rugby | Population:2 661 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,38 |
| Rank:16 | City:Hazen | Population:2 321 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,43 |
| Rank:17 | City:Carrington | Population:1 980 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,51 |
| Rank:18 | City:Stanley | Population:2 813 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:0,71 |
| Rank:19 | City:Belfield | Population:1 028 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,97 |
| Rank:20 | City:Lisbon | Population:2 036 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:0,98 |
| Rank:21 | City:Northwood | Population:904 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:1,11 |
| Rank:22 | City:Napoleon | Population:763 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:1,31 |
| Rank:23 | City:Oakes | Population:1 694 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:1,77 |
| Rank:24 | City:Tioga | Population:1 639 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:1,83 |
| Rank:25 | City:Berthold | Population:497 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:2,01 |
| Rank:26 | City:Wishek | Population:921 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:2,17 |
| Rank:27 | City:Killdeer | Population:1 213 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:2,47 |
| Rank:28 | City:Burlington | Population:1 233 | Total Number of Crimes:5 | Crime Score:4,06 |
| Rank:29 | City:Steele | Population:709 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:5,64 |
3,000 – 30,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Lincoln | Population:3 986 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:0,75 |
| Rank:2 | City:Beulah | Population:3 200 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:1,25 |
| Rank:3 | City:Grafton | Population:4 144 | Total Number of Crimes:6 | Crime Score:1,45 |
| Rank:4 | City:Wahpeton | Population:7 752 | Total Number of Crimes:15 | Crime Score:1,93 |
| Rank:5 | City:Dickinson | Population:23 428 | Total Number of Crimes:52 | Crime Score:2,22 |
| Rank:6 | City:Jamestown | Population:15 198 | Total Number of Crimes:37 | Crime Score:2,43 |
| Rank:7 | City:Devils Lake | Population:7 294 | Total Number of Crimes:20 | Crime Score:2,74 |
| Rank:8 | City:Valley City | Population:6 351 | Total Number of Crimes:18 | Crime Score:2,83 |
| Rank:9 | City:Mandan | Population:23 012 | Total Number of Crimes:85 | Crime Score:3,69 |
| Rank:10 | City:Williston | Population:28 966 | Total Number of Crimes:133 | Crime Score:4,59 |
| Rank:11 | City:Watford City | Population:8 488 | Total Number of Crimes:42 | Crime Score:4,95 |
Over 30,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:West Fargo | Population:38 171 | Total Number of Crimes:55 | Crime Score:1,44 |
| Rank:2 | City:Minot | Population:48 185 | Total Number of Crimes:130 | Crime Score:2,70 |
| Rank:3 | City:Grand Forks | Population:57 459 | Total Number of Crimes:166 | Crime Score:2,89 |
| Rank:4 | City:Bismarck | Population:74 705 | Total Number of Crimes:228 | Crime Score:3,05 |
| Rank:5 | City:Fargo | Population:127 423 | Total Number of Crimes:574 | Crime Score:4,50 |
Is your city safe enough? Are you worried because of the crime rate in your town? Do you have any thoughts on safety levels in the country? How safe do you feel?
If you want to share anything, feel free to leave a comment. That way, you can help us understand your perspective better.
Thank you!
Archives
- Safest Places to Live in North Dakota 2020
- Safest Places to Live in North Dakota 2019
- Safest Places to Live in North Dakota 2018
- Safest Places to Live in North Dakota 2017
- Safest Places to Live in North Dakota 2016
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