Best PlacesAmber Valley, Fargo, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Amber Valley, Fargo, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Amber Valley, Fargo ranks 1,173rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Amber Valley, Fargo
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Amber Valley, Fargo's strengths and weaknesses
Where Amber Valley, Fargo ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Short commute14.7 minutes each way, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
Where Amber Valley, Fargo ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 23% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Amber Valley, Fargo
A household needs to earn about $99,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Amber Valley, Fargo home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $75,634, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Amber Valley, Fargo's effective rate of 1.34%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Amber Valley, Fargo
Amber Valley, Fargo runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Amber Valley, Fargo.
Who works in Amber Valley, Fargo, and how
Work in Amber Valley, Fargo centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Amber Valley, Fargo
Amber Valley, Fargo has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Amber Valley, Fargo and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Amber Valley, Fargo, month by month
Amber Valley, Fargo sees roughly 119 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 22, with lows near 3. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22° | 12° | 3° |
| April | 54° | 41° | 30° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 59° |
| October | 60° | 46° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Amber Valley, Fargo
The nearest airport, Hector International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 222 miles away.
The best schools in and around Amber Valley, Fargo
Schools across Amber Valley, Fargo average a C+, better than 55% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Freedom Elementary SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Eastwood Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cheney Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Liberty Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- West Fargo Sheyenne High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Amber Valley, Fargo school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Amber Valley, Fargo measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Amber Valley, Fargo against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Amber Valley, Fargo
Is Amber Valley, Fargo a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Amber Valley, Fargo ranks 1,173rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a strong job market, a stable housing market, and short commutes, and lowest on tree cover and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Amber Valley, Fargo expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $351,288. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $75,634 median income, cost of living beats 58% of neighborhoods.
Is Amber Valley, Fargo safe?
Yes, Amber Valley, Fargo is safer than 87% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $324 per resident a year.
Compare Amber Valley, Fargo with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Amber Valley, Fargo. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Amber Valley, Fargo represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Amber Valley, Fargo detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Amber Valley, Fargo: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Amber Valley, Fargo: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Amber Valley, Fargo: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Amber Valley, Fargo: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Amber Valley, Fargo detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.