Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 25,870, settled in 1881.
Dickinson gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $332K, 3.9 years of the Dickinson area’s $86K median household income. It grades B overall, 12th among North Dakota's 23 graded towns. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 52% of working residents work locally in Dickinson, against 38% in North Dakota’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Dickinson is home to Dickinson State University.
Where Dickinson beats most towns.
17,787 counted in 2010 and 25,679 in 2020; an estimated 25,870 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 44.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Dakota), ordered by how far Dickinson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 897 in 1890, 25,679 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 2 maps from 1959 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dickinson, 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 Dickinson.
Dickinson has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and has seen reported crime fall beyond ordinary swings.
14 miles of trail in 14 parks and preserves. The trail density in Dickinson is 1.1 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Rocky Butte Park, at 26 acres.
| Dickinson | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 2.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rocky Butte Park | 0.8 mi | 26 |
| 2. Veterans Memorial Park | 0.7 mi | 25 |
| 3. Prairie Outpost Park | 0.3 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Dickinson 1 school district. Two of its 17 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dickinson Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 944 | B |
| Dickinson High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,022 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ND on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 85% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Dickinson.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Dickinson beats the North Dakota average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 23% of adults binge drink in Dickinson.
| Dickinson | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 22% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 74% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Dickinson | ND |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7% | 8.2% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 22.4% | 25.3% |
| More uninsured adults | 9.1% | 7.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 523 to 442 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Taylor 7 Nnw weather station, 17 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 119 days, shorter than in 97% of U.S. towns. January nights average 4.7°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 93% of North Dakota places with climate records; July afternoons average 83.4°.
Dickinson has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. No town among the 23 in North Dakota we compare has a higher January low than Dickinson. About 35 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Dickinson | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 5°F | 1°F | 22°F |
| July high | 83°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Dickinson’s average trip to work is 16 minutes. Since 2013, Dickinson has lost 1,784 jobs, to 11,499 in 2023. 14% of Dickinson residents live below the poverty line.
| Dickinson | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 4.7% | 5.6% | 11% |
| Median household income | $83,000 | $72,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Dickinson home is worth about $332,000, up 4.1% in a year, 14% above the North Dakota typical home.
| Dickinson | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 56% | 73% |
| Median rent | $957 a month | $980 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Children under 18 are 28% of residents (24% statewide). 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across North Dakota.
| Dickinson | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 28% | 26% | 22% |
| Median age | 33.3 years | 34.3 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 13% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 30% | 29% |
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.2 points). Across North Dakota, 48.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 33.6, men 33.1.
| Dickinson | ND | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 16.4% | 13% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.4% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.6% | 11.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.8% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.1% | 13.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.6% | 10.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 11.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.6% | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.1% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.5% | 6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.3% | 25.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.5% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.9% | 14% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.3% | 23% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.6% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1 within 15 miles of the center of Dickinson
About 6 of every 100 Dickinson residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across North Dakota.
5 places in Dickinson on the National Register of Historic Places.
22 notable people were born in Dickinson.
City in North Dakota, United States
Dickinson is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 25,679 at the 2020 census, making it the seventh most populous city in North Dakota. Dickinson, founded in 1881, is also home to Dickinson State University. Since the North Dakota oil boom the city has become one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. According to the 2020 census, the city is estimated to have a population of 25,679, however, other sources have estimates of the population at 33,646 or possibly exceeding 35,000. Dickinson is home to the Ukrainian Cultural Institute, which has a museum and holds events year-round for the local Ukrainian community. Dickinson…
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. Dickinson grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #12 of 23 in North Dakota. It grades B+ for health, C 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+.
22 notable people were born here, including Kellan Lutz and Byron Dorgan.
