Best PlacesWalsh County, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Walsh County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Walsh County ranks 566th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Walsh 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.
Walsh County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Walsh County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 95% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of counties
- Short commute18.0 minutes each way, better than 88% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 85% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 83% of counties
Where Walsh County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 12% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 24% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 25% of counties
- Cheap childcare$902 a month, better than only 28% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Walsh County
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Walsh County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,758, 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 Walsh County's effective rate of 0.93%, 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 Walsh County
Walsh 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 Walsh County.
Who works in Walsh County, and how
Work in Walsh County centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Walsh County
Walsh County has more parkland per resident than 90% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Walsh County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Walsh County growing, and who is moving in?
Walsh County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Grand Forks, ND.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Walsh County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Walsh County, month by month
Walsh County sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 18, with lows near 2. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18° | 9° | 2° |
| April | 49° | 38° | 30° |
| July | 82° | 70° | 59° |
| October | 54° | 44° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Walsh County
The nearest airport, Grand Forks International, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 318 miles away.
The best schools in and around Walsh County
Schools across Walsh County average a B−, better than 72% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Edmore Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Argyle ElementaryA · 72% proficient
- Manvel Elementary SchoolA− · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central MiddleB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Lakota High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- East Grand Forks Senior HighB− · 43% proficient
- Kittson Central SecondaryB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Walsh County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Walsh 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 Walsh County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Walsh County
Is Walsh County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Walsh County ranks 566th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, clean air, and short commutes, 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 Walsh County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $134,310. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $72,758 median income, cost of living beats 77% of counties.
Is Walsh County safe?
Yes, Walsh County is safer than 60% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $399 per resident a year.
Compare Walsh County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Walsh County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Walsh 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.
Walsh County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Walsh County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Walsh County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Walsh County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Walsh County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Walsh 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.