Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 1,987 people, the town was settled in 1957.
The best of Grand Forks AFB’s subject grades are an A for health and an A− for the outdoors; the weakest is a C for cost of living. Grand Forks AFB’s average trip to work is 10 minutes, against 16 minutes in North Dakota’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. No town among the 24 in North Dakota we compare has a lower median age than Grand Forks AFB. Grand Forks AFB’s trail network density is 2.2 miles per square mile, where North Dakota’s towns sit at 0.7 and U.S. towns at 0.4. No town in North Dakota scores lower than Grand Forks AFB on history. Grand Forks AFB has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Dakota), ordered by how far Grand Forks AFB is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Where Grand Forks AFB beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Grand Forks AFB | ND |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 1.9% | 8.2% |
The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1981 and 2 maps from 1934 on.
2,367 counted in 2010 and 2,002 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Ordered by what stands out in Grand Forks AFB.
Only one of the 24 North Dakota towns we compare has a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Grand Forks AFB. Just over a third of adults have obesity locally. This North Dakota town does better than the North Dakota average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 10.
| Grand Forks AFB | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 3.6% | 8.9% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 22% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 31% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 65% | 73% | 79% |
| What stands out | Grand Forks AFB | ND |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 1.9% | 8.2% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 1.5% | 6.1% |
| More binge drinkers | 31% | 21.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Four-year graduates: 30% of adults 25 and older here, 33% across North Dakota.
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4 points. Across North Dakota, 48.8% of residents are women.
| Grand Forks AFB | ND | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 31.2% | 13% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.5% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 18.9% | 11.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19.3% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17.5% | 13.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 1.7% | 10.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 0% | 11.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 0% | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 0% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1% | 6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 7.7% | 25.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 31.2% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 30.1% | 14% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.7% | 23% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.2% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
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 national flood insurance program has paid 3 claims in Grand Forks AFB since 1979. Compared with 86% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage locally is lower. 41% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 15%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Grand Forks AFB, the typical July afternoon high is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Half of commuters travel less than 20 miles. The share of working residents in Grand Forks AFB who work locally: 11%. This North Dakota town had 312 jobs in 2023, up 21 from 2013. The top destinations are Grand Forks (33%), Fargo (17%) and Bismarck (6%).
| Grand Forks AFB | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 39% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 4% | 9.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Grand Forks AFB is unincorporated, so Grand Forks County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Jul 30, 2024.
1 within 15 miles of the center of Grand Forks AFB
About 13 of every 100 Grand Forks AFB residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across North Dakota.
US Air Force base near Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States
Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) (IATA: RDR, ICAO: KRDR, FAA LID: RDR) is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and 16 miles (26 km) west of Grand Forks. The host unit is the 319th Reconnaissance Wing (319 RW) assigned to the Air Combat Command (ACC) operating E/RQ-4B Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), in the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) role. During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Grand Forks AFB.
| Town | ND rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Forks AFB | — | — | C | — | C+ | A |
| Mekinock Township | — | — | D | — | C+ | A− |
Grand Forks AFB and Mekinock Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Grand Forks AFB and Mekinock Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Grand Forks AFB with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
The typical home is worth about $10,000. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
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