Best PlacesDowntown Fargo, Fargo, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Fargo, Fargo, 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.
Downtown Fargo, Fargo ranks 3,275th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Fargo, 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.
Downtown Fargo, Fargo's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Fargo, Fargo ranks high
- Short commute15.3 minutes each way, better than 97% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Fargo, Fargo ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Household income$48,483 median, better than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Fargo, Fargo
A household needs to earn about $63,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Fargo, Fargo home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $48,483, 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 Downtown Fargo, Fargo's effective rate of 1.17%, 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 Downtown Fargo, Fargo
Downtown Fargo, 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 Downtown Fargo, Fargo.
Who works in Downtown Fargo, Fargo, and how
Work in Downtown Fargo, Fargo centers on construction and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in Downtown Fargo, Fargo
Downtown Fargo, Fargo has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 90% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown Fargo, Fargo and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Fargo, Fargo, month by month
Downtown Fargo, 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 Downtown Fargo, Fargo
The nearest airport, Hector International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 220 miles away.
The best schools in and around Downtown Fargo, Fargo
Schools across Downtown Fargo, Fargo average a C+, better than 47% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Clara Barton Hawthorne Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Horace Mann Roosevelt Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ben Franklin Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Carl Ben Eielson Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Dakota High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Fargo, Fargo school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Fargo, 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 Downtown Fargo, Fargo against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Fargo, Fargo
Is Downtown Fargo, Fargo a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Fargo, Fargo ranks 3,275th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on short commutes, walkability, and biking, and lowest on distance from a big city and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Fargo, Fargo expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $229,021. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $48,483 median income, cost of living beats 25% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Fargo, Fargo safe?
Downtown Fargo, Fargo is safer than 23% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,001 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Fargo, Fargo with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Fargo, Fargo. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Fargo, 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.
Downtown Fargo, Fargo detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Fargo, Fargo: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Fargo, Fargo: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Fargo, Fargo: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Fargo, Fargo: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Fargo, 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.