Best PlacesWashington, Fargo, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Washington, Fargo, 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.
Washington, Fargo ranks 2,620th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods 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 Washington, Fargo
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.
Washington, Fargo's strengths and weaknesses
Where Washington, Fargo ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Short commute17.3 minutes each way, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
Where Washington, Fargo ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 28% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Washington, Fargo
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Washington, Fargo home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,178, 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 Washington, Fargo's effective rate of 1.13%, 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 Washington, Fargo
Washington, Fargo runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Washington, Fargo.
Who works in Washington, Fargo, and how
Work in Washington, Fargo centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Washington, Fargo
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Washington, Fargo.
What the weather is like in Washington, Fargo, month by month
Washington, Fargo sees roughly 119 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 22, with lows near 3. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22° | 12° | 3° |
| April | 54° | 41° | 30° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 59° |
| October | 60° | 46° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Washington, Fargo
The nearest airport, Hector International, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 221 miles away.
The best schools in and around Washington, Fargo
Schools across Washington, Fargo average a C+, better than 56% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Longfellow Elementary SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Washington Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Horace Mann Roosevelt Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ben Franklin Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- North High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
- Dakota High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Washington, Fargo school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Washington, Fargo 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 Washington, Fargo against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Washington, Fargo
Is Washington, Fargo a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Washington, Fargo ranks 2,620th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on heat safety, short commutes, and low crime, and lowest on distance from a big city and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Washington, Fargo expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $243,599. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $67,178 median income, cost of living beats 37% of neighborhoods.
Is Washington, Fargo safe?
Yes, Washington, Fargo is safer than 83% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $366 per resident a year.
Compare Washington, Fargo with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Washington, Fargo. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Washington, Fargo 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.
Washington, Fargo detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Washington, Fargo: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Washington, Fargo: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Washington, Fargo: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Washington, Fargo: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Washington, Fargo 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.