Best PlacesBismarck, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Bismarck, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Bismarck ranks 46,682nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Bismarck
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.
Bismarck's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bismarck ranks high
- Cheap childcare$335 a month, better than 99% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 95% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of towns
- BikingBetter than 74% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
Where Bismarck ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 2% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of towns
- Household income$41,223 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Bismarck
A household needs to earn about $29,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bismarck home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $41,223, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Bismarck's effective rate of 0.67%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Bismarck
Bismarck's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Bismarck.
Who works in Bismarck, and how
Work in Bismarck centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Bismarck
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Bismarck.
What the weather is like in Bismarck, month by month
Bismarck sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 25° |
| April | 69° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Bismarck
The nearest airport, Scott AFB/Midamerica St Louis, is about 69 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 69 miles away.
The best schools in and around Bismarck
Schools across Bismarck average a C+, better than 42% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Arcadia Valley Elem.B− · 40% proficient
- Roosevelt Elem.C+ · 38% proficient
- West Elem.C+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lincoln IntermediateB · 45% proficient
- West County MiddleC+ · 39% proficient
- Arcadia Valley MiddleC+ · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Farmington Sr. HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Central HighB · 48% proficient
- West County HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bismarck school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bismarck 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 Bismarck against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Bismarck
Is Bismarck a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bismarck ranks 46,682nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, fast internet, and walkability, and lowest on health outcomes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bismarck expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $111,414. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $41,223 median income, cost of living beats 6% of towns.
Is Bismarck safe?
Bismarck is safer than 13% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $631 per resident a year.
Compare Bismarck with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bismarck. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bismarck 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.
Bismarck detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bismarck: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bismarck: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bismarck: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bismarck: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bismarck 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.