Minotafb-august1973, 1973
Minot AFB’s story
69 years in pictures
Census counts: 12,077 in 1970, 5,017 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1973 and 3 maps from 1949 on.
- 1957Minot AFB is settled
Minot AFBND
Home to 4,878 people, the town was settled in 1957.
Photo: Senior Airman Brittany Y. Auld · Public domain
Population
4,878
Census survey, 2020–24
Household income
$63K
median
Median age
22.6
years
Jobs based here
362
A commuter town
TownGrade
C
Better than 30% of U.S. towns
What should you know before moving to Minot AFB?
Where it falls short is cost of living (D−): the typical home is worth about , years of the Minot metro’s $78K median household income. Overall, Minot AFB earns a C, better than 30% of U.S. towns. On health it is strong (A): CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 88% of the country. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for incomes and B for walkability. The town’s trail density is 2.4 miles per square mile, above both the North Dakota town median (0.7) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Minot AFB's public schools trail 70% of North Dakota towns on state tests and graduation. Only 2 of North Dakota’s 69 towns score lower on history. Its typical journey to work is 10 minutes, below both North Dakota’s towns (17 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes).
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · OpenStreetMap · National Register of Historic Places.
What makes Minot AFB stand out
Where Minot AFB beats most towns.
Natural hazardsA+
Lower risk than 92% of U.S. communities
Very low risk of storm and flood damage
FEMA National Risk Index.
32 measures vs. North Dakota
13 better7 too close to call12 worse
| Widest gap | Minot AFB | ND |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 1.7% | 8.2% |
HealthA
Beats ND on 13 of 32 CDC measures, trails it on 12
Less healthyHealthier
CDC PLACES 2025 estimates.
A commuter town
91% of working residents leave Minot AFB for work
Where Minot AFB’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
362jobs based in Minot AFB
9%of working residents work in town
50 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Minot AFB grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Dakota), ordered by how far Minot AFB is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 4%), so the C overall blends very different results.
Cost of livingHome prices against what area households earnD−Open →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 8% of U.S. communities; cold waves top the listA+Open →HealthTrinity Hospitals 13.1 miles awayAOpen →SchoolsBased on how pupils do in exams and testsCOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.4 of 20; 3% of households have no car; 4% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →Jobs & income$63K median household incomeB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
OutdoorsLess open land and fewer trails than mostCOpen →HistoryNear the bottom of the towns comparedD−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Minot AFB: who provides what
Minot AFB is unincorporated, so Ward County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerXcel Energy13.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterCity of Minot water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
InternetProviders and speedsData pending · D4
Trash & county servicesWard CountyWard County provides services here
Register to voteNot requiredNorth Dakota has no voter registration: you show ID at the polls.vote.govWho runs elections hereWard County AuditorWard County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2026
ZIP codes58704, 5870558704 95% · 58705 5%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Jul 30, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Minot AFB.
Minot AFB carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of North Dakota (mostly cold waves), has less cancer than most of North Dakota and has colder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
OutdoorsC
0% of Minot AFB is conserved land
In 1 park or preserve, walkers have 18 miles of trail. No town among the 23 in North Dakota we compare has a higher trail density than Minot AFB. More trails than any other town in North Dakota.
#1for trails in ND
0%
conserved · 0 of 4,926 acres
18 mi
of trails · 2.4 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bud Ebert Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Who lives here
Young adults are more common in Minot AFB than in North Dakota
Only 0.4% of households own their home, against 62.9% across North Dakota.
Adults 18 to 34 are 46% of residents (25% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 18% of residents (35% statewide). Minot AFB’s midpoint age comes in at 22.6 years. A bachelor’s degree or higher: 30% of adults 25 and older, vs 33% across North Dakota.
22.6median age · ND 35.9
| Minot AFB | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 22.6 years | 34.3 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 30% | 30% | 29% |
Minot AFBNorth DakotaUnited States
Ages · share of residents
25%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma1%
High school18%
Some college28%
Associate’s23%
Bachelor’s14%
Graduate16%
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.8 points. Across North Dakota, 48.8% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 70% are men (ND 53%).
| Minot AFB | ND | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 24.6% | 13% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.4% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 23.9% | 11.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 22.4% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.4% | 13.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 1.6% | 10.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 0.5% | 11.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 0.3% | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 0% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.3% | 6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 17.5% | 25.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 28.2% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 23.1% | 14% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.2% | 23% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.7% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,900, single groups can be off by several points
HealthA
A smaller share of adults have diabetes in Minot AFB than in most of North Dakota or the rest of the country
Its widest gap with North Dakota is cancer: 1.7% of its 3,360 adults have had cancer, against 8.2% statewide.
In Minot AFB, 10% of adults smoke cigarettes. Of the 23 North Dakota towns we compare, none has a lower share of adults who have obesity than Minot AFB. 29% of adults in Minot AFB binge drink; 15% have high blood pressure. No town among the 23 in North Dakota we compare has a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Minot AFB.
88%healthier than U.S. townsAHealth Grade
| Minot AFB | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 2.9% | 9% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 22% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 31% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 63% | 74% | 79% |
32 measures vs. North Dakota
13 better7 too close to call12 worse
| What stands out | Minot AFB | ND |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 1.7% | 8.2% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 1.3% | 6.1% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 40.7% | 76.3% |
Trinity Hospitals
13.1 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
77th
percentile among ND towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A+
In Minot AFB, the FEMA risk score runs lower than in the typical North Dakota or U.S. town
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 100% of North Dakota towns, with expected losses of about $440 per resident a year; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
Expected losses in Minot AFB break down as 57% from cold waves and 15% from inland flooding. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2011.
8risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Cold wavesInland floodingTornadoes
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
About one in three of Minot AFB’s working residents commute to Minot
The average commute for its 549 working residents takes 9.8 minutes, against 17.9 across North Dakota.
Half commute less than 50 miles. Minot AFB had 362 jobs in 2023, up 69 from 2013. Commuting out is the norm here: nearly a tenth of working residents work locally. The share of residents in Minot AFB who live below the poverty line: 1.2%.
9%work in town
| Minot AFB | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 10 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 1.2% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.9% | 39% | 8% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Minot AFB9%
Minot37%
Fargo11%
Grand Forks4%
Bismarck4%
50 mi
median commute distance
362
jobs based in Minot AFB
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Expect snowy winters and pleasant summers in Minot AFB
January nights average 1.3°, colder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 81.2°.
About 52 inches of snow falls in a winter. Its January low comes in at 1°F.
52″snow a winter
| Minot AFB | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 1°F | 2°F | 22°F |
| July high | 81°F | 83°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
Winter4–22°
Spring29–52°
Summer54–79°
Fall32–54°
Sep 27
typical first frost
May 13
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Minot AFB
16pages on Minot AFB
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Minot AFB
About 14 of every 100 Minot AFB residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across North Dakota.
About Minot AFB
US Air Force base near Minot, North Dakota
Minot Air Force Base ( MY-not; IATA: MIB, ICAO: KMIB, FAA LID: MIB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in Ward County, North Dakota, thirteen miles (20 km) north of the city of Minot via U.S. Route 83. In the 2020 census, the base was counted as a CDP with a total population of 5,017, down from 5,521 in 2010. Minot AFB is the home of two major wings: the 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing, both of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). Originally opened 69 years ago in 1957 as an Air Defense Command (ADC) base, Minot AFB became a major Strategic Air Command (SAC) base in the early 1960s, with both nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missiles and manned bombers, sup…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1957
- Area
- 7.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,666 ft
- ZIP code
- 58704, 58705
Questions about Minot AFB
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Minot AFB, ND a good place to live?
Minot AFB grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns. It grades A for health and C for schools, and has the most trail per square mile in the state. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.