New Salem, North Dakota, 1942
New Salem’s story
143 years in pictures
Census counts: 229 in 1900, 973 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1942 and 2 maps from 1960 on.
- 1883New Salem is settled
Photo: The original uploader was Hephaestos at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
1,082
2025 Census estimate · +11% since 2020
Typical home
$233K
+6.6% in a year
Household income
$70K
median
Median age
39.8
years
Jobs based here
399
Balanced
Is New Salem a good place to live?
New Salem’s best subject grade is an A+ for cost of living; its weakest is a D for schools. 29% of residents are 65 or older in New Salem, above both the North Dakota town median (13%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). New Salem has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes New Salem stand out
Where New Salem beats most towns.
Small town
1,082 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
How New Salem grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Dakota), ordered by how far New Salem is from typical.
Cost of livingA+Open →SchoolsDOpen →HealthCHI St. Alexius Health 30.3 miles awayBOpen →Hazard riskhail tops the listC+Open →Jobs & income$70K median household incomeC+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 8.2 of 20; 4.6% of households have no car; 1.7% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors1 mile of trailC+Open →History1 notable person born hereC+Open →Civic life8.7 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsB−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 39.8; 20% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to New Salem: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in New Salem, and how to reach them.
PowerMontana-Dakota Utilities11.1¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterMissouri West Water SystemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet3 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNew Salem Transfer StationDrop-offTown site
Register to voteNot requiredNorth Dakota has no voter registration: you show ID at the polls.vote.govWho runs elections hereMorton County AuditorMorton County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2021
ZIP code5856358563 100%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 New Salem.
SchoolsD
On state tests, New Salem’s schools trail 86% of North Dakota districts
Its public schools are run by the New Salem-Almont 49 school district. Its two schools are below.
14%of ND districts it outscoresDSchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie View Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 212 | C |
| New Salem-Almont High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 165 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ND on state tests and graduation
Climate
New Salem has snowy winters and pleasant summers
New Salem has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 3° and about 45 inches of snow falls in a winter.
45″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter6–26°
Spring29–54°
Summer53–80°
Fall31–56°
Sep 24
typical first frost
May 18
typical last frost
+1.2°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HousingCost of living grade A+
New Salem’s typical home value is about $233K
The typical New Salem home is worth about $233,000, up 6.6% in a year, 20% below the North Dakota typical home. New Salem’s median rent is $871 a month, against $977 a month in North Dakota’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. 71% of households own their home in New Salem.
$233KZillow home value
| New Salem | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 71% | 57% | 73% |
| Median rent | $871 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
New Salem$233K
North Dakota$291K
+6.6%
value change, 1 year
1
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
About one in seven working residents works right in New Salem
Most working residents leave New Salem for work: only 15% work in town. Since 2013, New Salem has added 108 jobs, to 399 in 2023. New Salem’s average trip to work is 22 minutes.
15%work in town
| New Salem | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 39% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 16 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.9% | 9.8% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 7.5% | 5.6% | 11% |
Where working residents work
In New Salem15%
Bismarck17%
Hebron8%
Glen Ullin7%
Dickinson7%
30 mi
median commute distance
399
jobs based in New Salem
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HealthB
Residents of New Salem are healthier than 62% of U.S. towns
New Salem beats the North Dakota average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 39% of New Salem adults have high blood pressure. Of the 24 North Dakota towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than New Salem.
62%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
| New Salem | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 31% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 29% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 78% | 73% | 79% |
32 measures vs. North Dakota
4 better19 too close to call9 worse
| What stands out | New Salem | ND |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 18.1% | 21.3% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.1% | 76.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.9% | 8.2% |
CHI St. Alexius Health
30.3 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C+
Moderate risk in New Salem, with hail at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities.
56risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
HailCold wavesInland flooding
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
OutdoorsC+
0% of New Salem is conserved land
1.4 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. The trail density in New Salem is 1.0 miles per square mile.
0%conserved
0%
conserved · 0 of 885 acres
1.4 mi
of trails · 1 per sq mi
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about New Salem
19pages on New Salem
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of New Salem; the nearest are
Bismarck State CollegeCommunity college · Public · Bismarck28.5 mi$5,247 in-state tuitionSitting Bull CollegeUniversity or college · Public · Fort Yates63.2 mi$4,010 in-state tuition
About 3 of every 100 New Salem residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across North Dakota.
About New Salem
City in North Dakota, United States
New Salem is a city in Morton County, North Dakota, United States. It is part of the "Bismarck, North Dakota Metropolitan Statistical Area" or "Bismarck-Mandan". New Salem is approximately 24 miles west of Mandan and 31 miles west of Bismarck. The population was 973 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 1,158 in 2025. New Salem was founded in 1883.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1883
- Area
- 1.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,185 ft
- ZIP code
- 58563
- Area code
- 701
Questions about New Salem
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is New Salem, ND expensive?
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 A+.