Best PlacesGolden Valley County, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Golden Valley County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Golden Valley County ranks 552nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Golden Valley 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.
Golden Valley County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Golden Valley County ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 90% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 144 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 87% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of counties
- QuietBetter than 83% of counties
Where Golden Valley County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 17% of counties
- Cheap childcare$963 a month, better than only 20% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Golden Valley County
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Golden Valley County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,534, 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 Golden Valley County's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 Golden Valley County
Golden Valley County runs older 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 Golden Valley County.
Who works in Golden Valley County, and how
Work in Golden Valley County centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 1%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Golden Valley County
Golden Valley County has more parkland per resident than 99% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Golden Valley County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Golden Valley County growing, and who is moving in?
Golden Valley County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Stutsman County, ND.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Golden Valley County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Golden Valley County, month by month
Golden Valley County sees roughly 144 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 19° | 11° |
| April | 55° | 40° | 29° |
| July | 86° | 70° | 56° |
| October | 57° | 43° | 33° |
Flying in and out of Golden Valley County
The nearest airport, Dickinson/Theodore Roosevelt Regional, is about 55 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 487 miles away.
The best schools in and around Golden Valley County
Schools across Golden Valley County average a B−, better than 58% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Little Powder ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Golva Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Beach High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Golden Valley County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Golden Valley 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 Golden Valley County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Golden Valley County
Is Golden Valley County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Golden Valley County ranks 552nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on health care access, the weather, and what local pay buys, 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 Golden Valley County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $123,892. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $81,534 median income, cost of living beats 87% of counties.
Is Golden Valley County safe?
Golden Valley County is safer than 46% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $448 per resident a year.
Compare Golden Valley County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Golden Valley County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Golden Valley 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.
Golden Valley County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Golden Valley County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Golden Valley County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Golden Valley County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Golden Valley County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Golden Valley 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.