Best PlacesKidder County, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Kidder 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.
Kidder County ranks 1,458th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Kidder 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.
Kidder County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kidder County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 164 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 90% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 85% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 84% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 82% of counties
Where Kidder County ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 2% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Kidder County
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kidder County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,720, 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 Kidder County's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Kidder County
Kidder 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 Kidder County.
Who works in Kidder County, and how
Work in Kidder County centers on agriculture & forestry and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Kidder County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Kidder County.
Is Kidder County growing, and who is moving in?
Kidder County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Chattanooga, TN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Kidder County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Kidder County, month by month
Kidder County sees roughly 164 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 21, with lows near 4. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21° | 12° | 4° |
| April | 51° | 38° | 29° |
| July | 83° | 70° | 59° |
| October | 56° | 43° | 34° |
Flying in and out of Kidder County
The nearest airport, Bismarck Municipal, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 346 miles away.
The best schools in and around Kidder County
Schools across Kidder County average a B−, better than 60% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Climax ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- S.g. Reinertsen ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
- Napoleon Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- Horizon Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Gackle-streeter High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Moorhead High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Hazelton-moffit-braddock High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kidder County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kidder 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 Kidder County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Kidder County
Is Kidder County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kidder County ranks 1,458th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, health care access, and a stable housing market, and lowest on tree cover and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kidder County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $160,206. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $64,720 median income, cost of living beats 33% of counties.
Is Kidder County safe?
Yes, Kidder County is safer than 82% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $323 per resident a year.
Compare Kidder County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kidder County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kidder 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.
Kidder County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kidder County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kidder County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kidder County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kidder County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kidder 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.