Best PlacesForbes, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Forbes, 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.
Forbes ranks 21,468th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Forbes
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.
Forbes' strengths and weaknesses
Where Forbes ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 164 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of towns
- Short commute17.5 minutes each way, better than 94% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of towns
Where Forbes ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 18% of towns
- Household income$54,405 median, better than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Forbes
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Forbes home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $54,405; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Forbes' effective rate of 0.63%, 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 Forbes
Forbes'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 Forbes.
Who works in Forbes, and how
Work in Forbes centers on agriculture & forestry and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Forbes
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Forbes.
What the weather is like in Forbes, month by month
Forbes sees roughly 164 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 23, with lows near 6. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23° | 14° | 6° |
| April | 53° | 40° | 30° |
| July | 84° | 71° | 60° |
| October | 58° | 44° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Forbes
The nearest airport, Aberdeen Regional, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 283 miles away.
The best schools in and around Forbes
Schools across Forbes average a B+, better than 76% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Ellendale Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Kulm Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Ashley Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Browns Valley MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Ellendale High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Ashley High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Breckenridge Senior HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Forbes school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Forbes 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 Forbes against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Forbes
Is Forbes a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Forbes ranks 21,468th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, clean air, and the weather, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Forbes expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $215,098. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $54,405 median income, cost of living beats 19% of towns.
Is Forbes safe?
Forbes is safer than 47% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $392 per resident a year.
Compare Forbes with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Forbes. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Forbes 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.
Forbes detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Forbes: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Forbes: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Forbes: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Forbes: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Forbes 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.