Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 47,308, settled in 1887.
Minot grades B− overall, ranked 14th of 23 in North Dakota, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is healthier than 83% of U.S. towns and natural-hazard risk is low. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its public schools trail 70% of North Dakota towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $280K, 3.6 years of the Minot metro’s $78K median household income. 63% of working residents work locally in Minot, where North Dakota’s towns sit at 38% and U.S. towns at 8%. Minot has 12 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Soo Line Passenger Depot and Minot Commercial Historic District. Minot is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 72% of U.S. towns.
Where Minot beats most towns.
Census counts: 575 in 1890, 48,377 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1928 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Dakota), ordered by how far Minot is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Minot, 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 Minot.
Minot carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of North Dakota (mostly cold waves), fares better on crime within North Dakota than nationally and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of North Dakota.
26 miles of trail in 15 parks and preserves. The trail density in Minot is 0.9 miles per square mile. Minot Outdoor Recreation Area, at 240 acres with 3.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Minot | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.8% | 2.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Minot Outdoor Recreation Area | 3.9 mi | 240 |
| 2. South Hill Complex | 1 mi | 41 |
| 3. Jack Hoeven Baseball Park | 0.8 mi | 50 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Minot 1 school district. Three of its 21 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erik Ramstad Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 584 | B |
| Minot High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,086 | – |
| Bel Air Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 265 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ND on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 95% of North Dakota towns, with expected losses of about $427 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Minot’s FEMA risk score is 9 of 100. Since 1979, 616 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Minot.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
22% of Minot adults binge drink. Minot beats the North Dakota average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 39% of Minot adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Minot | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 22% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 32% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 9% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Minot | ND |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.2% | 6.1% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.7% | 3.1% |
| More adults sleeping under 7 hours | 39.1% | 32.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 26.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 53% of North Dakota’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 869 to 687 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 1.9°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 81% of North Dakota places with climate records; July afternoons average 81.5°.
Minot has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. About 52 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Minot | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2°F | 1°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 83°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based in Minot fell to 22,958 in 2023, 1,605 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Bismarck (4%), Fargo (3%) and Nedrose Township (2%). 5.3% of workers work from home in Minot.
| Minot | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 16 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 5.3% | 5.6% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 31% of residents (25% statewide). Minot has lost 2.2% of its people since 2020, down to 47,308 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 30% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across North Dakota.
| Minot | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33.5 years | 34.3 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 22% | 27% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 13% | 18% |
47.8% women, 52.2% men
About 109 men for every 100 women. Across North Dakota, 48.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 34.6, men 32.8.
| Minot | ND | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.1% | 13% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.9% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12.1% | 11.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 18.8% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.4% | 13.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.1% | 10.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.5% | 11.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.9% | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.3% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.7% | 6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.5% | 25.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.5% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.6% | 14% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.9% | 23% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.8% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Minot home is worth about $280,000, up 3.1% in a year, close to the North Dakota typical home.
| Minot | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $973 a month | $980 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Minot
About 7 of every 100 Minot residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Dakota.
40,888 counted in 2010 and 48,377 in 2020; an estimated 47,308 in 2025.
Since 2020 the trend has turned: down 2.2%, after 18.3% growth in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
12 places in Minot on the National Register of Historic Places.
50 notable people were born in Minot.
5 towns share a border with Minot.
| Town | ND rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minot | #14 | B− | B− | C | C | A− |
| Nedrose Township | — | — | C+ | — | C− | A− |
| Harrison Township | — | — | C | — | C | A− |
| Afton Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sundre Township | — | — | B+ | — | C | A− |
| Eureka Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nedrose Township, Harrison Township and Sundre Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Nedrose Township, Harrison Township and Sundre Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Afton Township and Eureka Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Minot with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Minot grades B− overall, better than 51% of U.S. towns and #14 of 23 in North Dakota. It grades A− for health, C for safety and C for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
50 notable people were born here, including Josh Duhamel and Gary Johnson.
