Best PlacesMcKenzie County, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in McKenzie 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.
McKenzie County ranks 807th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in McKenzie 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.
McKenzie County's strengths and weaknesses
Where McKenzie County ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- Household income$104,007 median, better than 94% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 88% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 135 pleasant days a year, better than 85% of counties
Where McKenzie County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,063 a month, better than only 14% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 16% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 24% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in McKenzie County
A household needs to earn about $85,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McKenzie County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $104,007, 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 McKenzie County's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in McKenzie County
McKenzie 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 McKenzie County.
Who works in McKenzie County, and how
Work in McKenzie County centers on mining & oil & gas and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in McKenzie County
McKenzie County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of McKenzie County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is McKenzie County growing, and who is moving in?
McKenzie County has grown about 35% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Riverside, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving McKenzie County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in McKenzie County, month by month
McKenzie County sees roughly 135 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 McKenzie County
The nearest airport, Williston Basin International, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 519 miles away.
The best schools in and around McKenzie County
Schools across McKenzie County average a C−, better than 26% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Horse Creek SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- East Fairview Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Alexander Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Watford City Middle SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- New Town Middle SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Sundance Secondary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Mandaree High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Wolves Center AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McKenzie County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McKenzie 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 McKenzie County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in McKenzie County
Is McKenzie County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McKenzie County ranks 807th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on heat safety, high incomes, and population health, 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 McKenzie County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $341,154. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $104,007 median income, cost of living beats 88% of counties.
Is McKenzie County safe?
McKenzie County is safer than 24% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $546 per resident a year.
Compare McKenzie County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McKenzie County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McKenzie 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.
McKenzie County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McKenzie County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McKenzie County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McKenzie County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McKenzie County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McKenzie 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.