Best PlacesWest Fargo, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West 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.
West Fargo ranks 336th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West 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.
West Fargo's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Fargo ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 97% of cities
- Short commute17.4 minutes each way, better than 95% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of cities
- BikingBetter than 92% of cities
Where West Fargo ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 12% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 30% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 31% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in West Fargo
A household needs to earn about $96,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Fargo home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $97,498, 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 West Fargo's effective rate of 1.22%, 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 West Fargo
West Fargo runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Fargo.
Who works in West Fargo, and how
Work in West Fargo centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in West Fargo
West Fargo has more restaurants and bars per resident than 65% of cities and more parkland per resident than 91% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West Fargo and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Fargo, month by month
West 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 West Fargo
The nearest airport, Hector International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 223 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Fargo
Schools across West Fargo average a B−, better than 42% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Legacy Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Westside Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Harwood Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cheney Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Liberty Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Horizon Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- West Fargo High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- West Fargo Sheyenne High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Fargo school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West 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 West Fargo against the other 2,097 cities.
Who West Fargo suits
Families
Schools land around the 42nd percentile and crime safety beats 86%.
Retirees
The weather beats 69% of cities, health care access beats 78%, and it is quieter than 57%.
Common questions about living in West Fargo
Is West Fargo a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Fargo ranks 336th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on a strong job market, short commutes, and heat safety, and lowest on tree cover and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Fargo expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $347,500. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $97,498 median income, cost of living beats 70% of cities.
Is West Fargo safe?
Yes, West Fargo is safer than 86% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $278 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Fargo?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 22 with lows near 3. That works out to about 119 pleasant days a year, more than 69% of cities.
Is West Fargo good for families?
Schools beat 42% of cities, crime safety beats 86%, and childcare runs $948 a month.
Compare West Fargo with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Fargo. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West 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.
West Fargo detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Fargo: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Fargo: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Fargo: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Fargo: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West 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.