Best PlacesDickey County, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Dickey County, 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.
Dickey County ranks 211th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Dickey County
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.
Dickey County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dickey County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of counties
- Short commute15.8 minutes each way, better than 94% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 145 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of counties
Where Dickey County ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 11% of counties
- Cheap childcare$901 a month, better than only 28% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 29% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Dickey County
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dickey County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,185, 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 Dickey County's effective rate of 0.93%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Dickey County
Dickey County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Dickey County.
Who works in Dickey County, and how
Work in Dickey County centers on agriculture & forestry and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Dickey County
Dickey County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Dickey County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Dickey County growing, and who is moving in?
Dickey County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Cavalier County, ND.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Dickey County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Dickey County, month by month
Dickey County sees roughly 145 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 21, with lows near 5. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21° | 13° | 5° |
| April | 52° | 41° | 32° |
| July | 83° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 57° | 46° | 37° |
Flying in and out of Dickey County
The nearest airport, Aberdeen Regional, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 260 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dickey County
Schools across Dickey County average a B+, better than 82% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lamoure Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Ellendale Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Oakes Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Browns Valley MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Ellendale High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Oakes High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Ashley High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dickey County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dickey County 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 Dickey County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Dickey County
Is Dickey County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dickey County ranks 211th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, clean air, and walkability, 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 Dickey County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $164,490. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $73,185 median income, cost of living beats 66% of counties.
Is Dickey County safe?
Yes, Dickey County is safer than 87% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $309 per resident a year.
Compare Dickey County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dickey County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dickey County 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.
Dickey County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dickey County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dickey County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dickey County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dickey County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dickey County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.