Best PlacesGrand Forks County, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Grand Forks 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.
Grand Forks County ranks 222nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Grand Forks 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.
Grand Forks County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Grand Forks County ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of counties
- TransitBetter than 95% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of counties
- Short commute15.8 minutes each way, better than 94% of counties
Where Grand Forks County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 14% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 14% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 17% of counties
- Cheap childcare$941 a month, better than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Grand Forks County
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Grand Forks County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,212, 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 Grand Forks County's effective rate of 1.10%, 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 Grand Forks County
Grand Forks County 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 Grand Forks County.
Who works in Grand Forks County, and how
Work in Grand Forks County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Grand Forks County
Grand Forks County has more parkland per resident than 75% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 70% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Grand Forks County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Grand Forks County growing, and who is moving in?
Grand Forks County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Fargo, ND.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Grand Forks County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Grand Forks County, month by month
Grand Forks County sees roughly 133 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 19, with lows near 2. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19° | 10° | 2° |
| April | 51° | 39° | 29° |
| July | 84° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 56° | 45° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Grand Forks County
The nearest airport, Grand Forks International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 279 miles away.
The best schools in and around Grand Forks County
Schools across Grand Forks County average a B−, better than 66% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Central Valley Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Manvel Elementary SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Nathan Twining Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nathan Twining Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Schroeder Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- South Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Valley High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Thompson High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Northwood High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Grand Forks County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Grand Forks 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 Grand Forks County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Grand Forks County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 80% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 7% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 84% of counties and health care access beats 62%.
Common questions about living in Grand Forks County
Is Grand Forks County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Grand Forks County ranks 222nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on biking, walkability, and transit, and lowest on air quality and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Grand Forks County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $275,465. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $79,212 median income, cost of living beats 80% of counties.
Is Grand Forks County safe?
Yes, Grand Forks County is safer than 87% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $330 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Grand Forks County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 19 with lows near 2. That works out to about 133 pleasant days a year, more than 84% of counties.
Is Grand Forks County good for families?
Schools beat 66% of counties, crime safety beats 87%, and childcare runs $941 a month.
Compare Grand Forks County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Grand Forks County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Grand Forks 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.
Grand Forks County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Grand Forks County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Grand Forks County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Grand Forks County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Grand Forks County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Grand Forks 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.