Best PlacesNorthgate, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Northgate, 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.
Northgate ranks 8,206th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Northgate
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.
Northgate's strengths and weaknesses
Where Northgate ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 167 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 95% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 90% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of towns
Where Northgate ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 11% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Northgate
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Northgate home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $95,545, 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 Northgate's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 Northgate
Northgate's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Northgate.
Who works in Northgate, and how
Work in Northgate centers on public administration and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Northgate
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Northgate.
What the weather is like in Northgate, month by month
Northgate sees roughly 167 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 20, with lows near 1. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20° | 10° | 1° |
| April | 52° | 37° | 26° |
| July | 81° | 67° | 55° |
| October | 55° | 40° | 30° |
Flying in and out of Northgate
The nearest airport, Minot International, is about 63 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 507 miles away.
The best schools in and around Northgate
Schools across Northgate average a B−, better than 64% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Kenmare Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Burke Central Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Bowbells Elementary SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Bowbells High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Burke Central High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Kenmare High SchoolF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Northgate school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Northgate 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 Northgate against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Northgate
Is Northgate a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Northgate ranks 8,206th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, what local pay buys, and a stable housing market, 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 Northgate expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $106,585. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $95,545 median income, cost of living beats 95% of towns.
Is Northgate safe?
Northgate is safer than 45% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $402 per resident a year.
Compare Northgate with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Northgate. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Northgate 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.
Northgate detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Northgate: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Northgate: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Northgate: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Northgate: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Northgate 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.
- 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.