Best PlacesWest Ontario, ND Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Ontario, 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.
West Ontario ranks 21,499th of 50,333 U.S. towns 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 West Ontario
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 Ontario's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Ontario ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 95% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 150 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 86% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 83% of towns
Where West Ontario ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Ontario
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Ontario home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,938, 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 Ontario's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Ontario
West Ontario 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 West Ontario.
Who works in West Ontario, and how
Work in West Ontario centers on agriculture & forestry and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in West Ontario
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Ontario.
What the weather is like in West Ontario, month by month
West Ontario sees roughly 150 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 21, with lows near 6. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21° | 13° | 6° |
| April | 49° | 38° | 30° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 60° |
| October | 55° | 44° | 36° |
Flying in and out of West Ontario
The nearest airport, Jamestown Regional, is about 54 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 351 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Ontario
Schools across West Ontario average a C+, better than 48% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Kidder County Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Fessenden-bowdon Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central MiddleB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- East Grand Forks Senior HighB− · 43% proficient
- Kidder County High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Fessenden-bowdon High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Ontario school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Ontario 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 Ontario against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Ontario
Is West Ontario a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Ontario ranks 21,499th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, the weather, and low taxes, and lowest on distance from a big city and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Ontario expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $107,182. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $69,938 median income, cost of living beats 68% of towns.
Is West Ontario safe?
West Ontario is safer than 44% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $420 per resident a year.
Compare West Ontario with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Ontario. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Ontario 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 Ontario detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Ontario: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Ontario: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Ontario: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Ontario: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Ontario 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.