Best PlacesMcLean County, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in McLean 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.
McLean County ranks 679th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in McLean 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.
McLean County's strengths and weaknesses
Where McLean County ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 86% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 82% of counties
Where McLean County ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 16% of counties
- Cheap childcare$954 a month, better than only 21% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in McLean County
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McLean County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,023, 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 McLean County's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 McLean County
McLean 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 McLean County.
Who works in McLean County, and how
Work in McLean 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 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in McLean County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across McLean County.
Is McLean County growing, and who is moving in?
McLean County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Bismarck, ND.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving McLean County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in McLean County, month by month
McLean County sees roughly 123 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 23, with lows near 5. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23° | 13° | 5° |
| April | 53° | 39° | 28° |
| July | 84° | 70° | 58° |
| October | 56° | 43° | 34° |
Flying in and out of McLean County
The nearest airport, Minot International, is about 51 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 424 miles away.
The best schools in and around McLean County
Schools across McLean County average a C+, better than 45% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Wilton Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Turtle Lake-mercer Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Washburn Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- North Shore Plaza High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Velva High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Washburn High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McLean County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McLean 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 McLean County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in McLean County
Is McLean County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McLean County ranks 679th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on health care access, low crime, and clean air, and lowest on tree cover and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McLean County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $227,449. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $82,023 median income, cost of living beats 70% of counties.
Is McLean County safe?
Yes, McLean County is safer than 88% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $307 per resident a year.
Compare McLean County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McLean County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McLean 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.
McLean County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McLean County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McLean County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McLean County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McLean County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McLean 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.