Best PlacesWells County, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Wells 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.
Wells County ranks 1,106th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Wells 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.
Wells County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Wells County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Short commute14.5 minutes each way, better than 96% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of counties
Where Wells County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 5% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 22% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 25% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 25% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Wells County
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Wells County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,086, 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 Wells County's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Wells County
Wells 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 Wells County.
Who works in Wells County, and how
Work in Wells County centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Wells County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Wells County.
Is Wells County growing, and who is moving in?
Wells County has lost about 8% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Minot, ND.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Wells County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Wells County, month by month
Wells County sees roughly 131 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 22, with lows near 5. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22° | 13° | 5° |
| April | 51° | 38° | 28° |
| July | 82° | 70° | 58° |
| October | 52° | 41° | 32° |
Flying in and out of Wells County
The nearest airport, Devils Lake Regional, is about 50 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 368 miles away.
The best schools in and around Wells County
Schools across Wells County average a C+, better than 53% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- New Rockford-sheyenne Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Maddock Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Bm Hanson Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central MiddleB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- New Rockford-sheyenne High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- East Grand Forks Senior HighB− · 43% proficient
- Harvey High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Wells County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Wells 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 Wells County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Wells County
Is Wells County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Wells County ranks 1,106th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, a stable housing market, 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 Wells County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $123,788. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $62,086 median income, cost of living beats 57% of counties.
Is Wells County safe?
Wells County is safer than 46% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $436 per resident a year.
Compare Wells County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Wells County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Wells 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.
Wells County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Wells County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Wells County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Wells County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Wells County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Wells 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.