Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Carrington’s best subject grades are an A for cost of living and schools; its weakest is a C for hazard risk. 45% of working residents work locally in Carrington, against 39% in North Dakota’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. No town among the 16 in North Dakota we compare has a lower property crime rate than Carrington. Carrington has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Foster County Courthouse and US Post Office-Carrington. Carrington has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Carrington beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Carrington Elementary School | PK–6 | 347 |
| Carrington High School | 7–12 | 254 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Dakota), ordered by how far Carrington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,217 in 1910, 2,080 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 2 maps from 1948 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carrington, 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 Carrington.
Its public schools are run by the Carrington 49 school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrington Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 347 | A− |
| Carrington High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 254 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ND on state tests and graduation
The typical Carrington home is worth about $204,000, up 7.1% in a year, 30% below the North Dakota typical home. At $778 a month, Carrington’s median rent is where North Dakota’s towns sit at $977 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. 71% of households own their home in Carrington.
| Carrington | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $778 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 57% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Carrington beats the North Dakota average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 20% of Carrington adults binge drink. Of the 24 North Dakota towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Carrington.
| Carrington | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 22% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 29% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 36% |
| What stands out | Carrington | ND |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.3% | 76.3% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 85.8% | 82.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.6% | 10.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Carrington has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Carrington’s July high is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 18 to 34 are 19% of residents (25% statewide); people 65 and older are 22% of residents (17% statewide). Carrington has lost 6.2% of its people since 2020, down to 1,950 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across North Dakota.
| Carrington | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 13% | 18% |
| Median age | 40.5 years | 33.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 23% | 26% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 30% | 29% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.3 points. Across North Dakota, 48.8% of residents are women.
| Carrington | ND | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 16.7% | 13% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.7% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.4% | 11.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.1% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.6% | 13.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.4% | 10.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.3% | 11.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.9% | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.6% | 6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.1% | 25.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.3% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.8% | 14% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.4% | 23% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.9% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,000, single groups can be off by several points
The average trip to work in Carrington is 11 minutes. Since 2013, Carrington has added 117 jobs, to 1,107 in 2023. The top destinations are Fargo (7%), New Rockford (5%) and Carrington Township (5%).
| Carrington | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 11 minutes | 16 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $77,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Carrington's reported crime rate is well below North Dakota's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2024.
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
0.3 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. No town among the 24 in North Dakota we compare has a lower trail density than Carrington.
| Carrington | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 2.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. City Park | — | 32 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Carrington; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Carrington residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across North Dakota.
3 places in Carrington on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Carrington.
City in North Dakota, United States
Carrington is a city in and the county seat of Foster County, North Dakota, United States. A part of Carrington Township and Wyard Township. The population was 2,080 as of the 2020 census, and was estimated at 1,950 in 2025. Carrington is home to Dakota Growers Pasta Company, Inc.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Carrington.
| Town | ND rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrington · Carrington Township | — | — | A | — | A | B+ |
| Wyard Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Carrington has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Carrington reports no FBI crime data of its own. Wyard Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Carrington Township and Carrington are one community, graded once. Compare Carrington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Carrington was platted in 1882 and has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 3 notable people were born here, including Jim Kleinsasser and Larry Woiwode.
