Best PlacesDunn County, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Dunn County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Dunn County ranks 433rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Dunn 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.
Dunn County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dunn County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 98% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 95% of counties
- Household income$95,876 median, better than 90% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 84% of counties
Where Dunn County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 12% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,021 a month, better than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Dunn County
A household needs to earn about $72,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dunn County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $95,876, 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 Dunn County's effective rate of 0.43%, 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 Dunn County
Dunn County'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 Dunn County.
Who works in Dunn County, and how
Work in Dunn County centers on agriculture & forestry and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Dunn County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Dunn County.
Is Dunn County growing, and who is moving in?
Dunn County has lost about 8% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Atlanta, GA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Dunn County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Dunn County, month by month
Dunn County sees roughly 129 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 16° | 7° |
| April | 55° | 41° | 30° |
| July | 86° | 71° | 58° |
| October | 56° | 43° | 33° |
Flying in and out of Dunn County
The nearest airport, Dickinson/Theodore Roosevelt Regional, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 482 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dunn County
Schools across Dunn County average a C+, better than 46% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hebron Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Taylor-richardton Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Killdeer Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- Beulah Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- East Grand Forks Senior HighB− · 43% proficient
- Hebron High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Killdeer High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dunn County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dunn 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 Dunn County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Dunn County
Is Dunn County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dunn County ranks 433rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, what local pay buys, and high incomes, and lowest on distance from a big city and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dunn County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $288,287. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $95,876 median income, cost of living beats 95% of counties.
Is Dunn County safe?
Yes, Dunn County is safer than 60% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $390 per resident a year.
Compare Dunn County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dunn County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dunn 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.
Dunn County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dunn County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dunn County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dunn County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dunn County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dunn 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.