Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Beulah gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $237K, 2.9 years of the county’s $81K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 10th of 23 in North Dakota. On the plus side, 6% of its land is conserved. Only 1 of the 15 North Dakota towns we compare have a lower property crime rate than Beulah. Beulah School is on the National Register of Historic Places. Beulah is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 76% of U.S. towns.
Where Beulah beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Dakota), ordered by how far Beulah is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 552 in 1920, 3,058 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1920 and 2 maps from 1968 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Beulah, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Jul 30, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Beulah.
Beulah fares better on crime within North Dakota than nationally, has homes that are cheap against local pay and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of North Dakota.
At 11.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 87% of North Dakota’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2024, 1 per 1,000 residents.
Beulah’s violent crime rate is 1 per 1,000 residents, below the North Dakota town median (2.8) and near the median of U.S. towns (1.7).
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Beulah 27 school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beulah Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 306 | C |
| Beulah High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 209 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ND on state tests and graduation
January nights average 2.6°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 88% of North Dakota places with climate records; July afternoons average 83.4°.
Beulah has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Beulah’s January low is 3°F, close to North Dakota’s towns (1°F) and below U.S. towns (22°F). About 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Beulah | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 3°F | 1°F | 22°F |
| July high | 83°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.3 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Among 23 North Dakota towns, just 2 have a higher share of conserved land than Beulah. The biggest park or preserve is Beulah Park, at 27 acres.
| Beulah | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.6% | 2.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Beulah Park | — | 27 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 2.9 years of the county’s $81K median household income, the typical home (about $237K) costs less against local pay than in 85% of North Dakota towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. 71.2% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 38.9% across North Dakota.
The typical Beulah home is worth about $237,000, up 4.3% in a year, 18% below the North Dakota typical home. 72% of households own their home in Beulah.
| Beulah | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 72% | 56% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,075 a month | $973 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
About one in 3 of Beulah’s working residents works in town. Beulah’s average trip to work is 15 minutes. Jobs based in Beulah fell to 1,123 in 2023, 218 fewer than in 2013.
| Beulah | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 39% | 39% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Beulah beats the North Dakota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 20% of Beulah adults binge drink. Among 23 North Dakota towns, just 1 have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Beulah.
| Beulah | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 22% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 36% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 30% | 35% |
| What stands out | Beulah | ND |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 7.5% | 5.9% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.5% | 6.1% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 3.7% | 3.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1997, 54 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Beulah.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Beulah; the nearest are
About 8 of every 100 Beulah residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Dakota.
City in North Dakota, United States
Beulah is a city in Mercer County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 3,058 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 3,047 in 2024, making it the 17th-most populous city in North Dakota. Beulah is home to the Dakota Gasification Company. It is near the largest lignite mine in the United States, owned by North American Coal Corporation.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Beulah grades B overall, better than 61% of U.S. towns and #10 of 23 in North Dakota. It grades B for health, B+ for safety and C for schools.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.