Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,357, settled in 1907.
Bowman’s best subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and civic life and an A for walkability; its weakest is a D for incomes. On hazard risk, just 6 of North Dakota’s 69 towns do better. On civic life, just 4 of North Dakota’s 64 towns do better. Bowman has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Bowman beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Dakota), ordered by how far Bowman is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 481 in 1910, a peak of 2,071 in 1980, 1,470 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 2 maps from 1968 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bowman, 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 Bowman.
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Bowman once, in 2005. 55% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from cold waves, followed by inland flooding at 16%. This North Dakota town has had 11 paid flood insurance claims since 1978.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The public schools here belong to the Bowman Co 1 school district. Of its 3 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowman Co Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 230 | C+ |
| Bowman Co High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 231 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ND on state tests and graduation
The rent at the middle of the market in Bowman is $713 a month. In Bowman, 79% of households are owner-occupiers, above both North Dakota’s towns (57%) and U.S. towns (73%). Typical home values rose 6.6% in the year to September 2026.
| Bowman | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 79% | 57% | 73% |
| Median rent | $713 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
In Bowman, one in ten adults worry about having enough food, near the North Dakota town median (12%) and below the median of U.S. towns (14%). CDC measures, 32 in all: Bowman beats North Dakota on 2 and trails on 4. 13% of adults report frequent mental distress locally. Only one of the 24 North Dakota towns we compare has a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Bowman.
| Bowman | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 22% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 29% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| What stands out | Bowman | ND |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.8% | 76.3% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 85.7% | 82.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.7% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Bowman reports less crime per resident than 67% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade. In Bowman, the rate of reported violence is 1.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Bowman | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 15.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Among 24 North Dakota towns, just 2 have a higher peak summer temperature than Bowman. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 8° and about 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median commute is under 1 miles. Among working residents in Bowman, 42% work locally. This North Dakota town had 764 jobs in 2023, down 175 from 2013. Also worth knowing: for Bowman, the typical journey to work is 12 minutes.
| Bowman | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 42% | 39% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 12 minutes | 16 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 9.8% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are nearly a fifth of residents (25% statewide); people 65 and older are 21% of residents (17% statewide). Since 2020, Bowman has lost 7.7% of its people, to 1,357 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. In Bowman, the median age is 39 years. 29% of adults 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree, against 33% across North Dakota.
| Bowman | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 13% | 18% |
| Median age | 39 years | 33.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 26% | 26% | 22% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3 points. Across North Dakota, 48.8% of residents are women.
| Bowman | ND | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.5% | 13% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.3% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.1% | 11.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.1% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.7% | 13.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 10.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.3% | 11.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.7% | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.5% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.7% | 6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.9% | 25.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 10.7% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 16.6% | 14% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19% | 23% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.2% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,400, single groups can be off by several points
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. City Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Bowman; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Bowman residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across North Dakota.
1,650 counted in 2010 and 1,470 in 2020; an estimated 1,357 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
4 notable people were born in Bowman.
City in North Dakota, United States
Bowman is a city located in southwestern North Dakota and is the county seat of Bowman County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 1,470 at the 2020 census. Bowman is approximately 16 ½ miles north of the South Dakota border and roughly 32 miles east of the Montana border.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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 A+.
4 notable people were born here, including Haskell Paul Rosenthal and Keith Kempenich.