Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,141, settled in 1869.
Wahpeton gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $236K for a typical one, or 3.2 years of the Wahpeton area’s $74K median household income. It grades B+ overall, ranked 5th of 23 in North Dakota. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns. 15% of residents are under 18 in Wahpeton, against 27% in North Dakota’s towns and 22% across U.S. towns. Wahpeton is home to North Dakota State College of Science. Only 2 of the 20 North Dakota towns we compare have a lower median rent than Wahpeton.
Where Wahpeton beats most towns.
Census counts: 400 in 1880, 8,007 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1904 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Dakota), ordered by how far Wahpeton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wahpeton, 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 Wahpeton.
Wahpeton is shaped by its college students, fares better on crime within North Dakota than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Its public schools are run by the Wahpeton 37 school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Wahpeton High School, with 364 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wahpeton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 1–5 | Grades 1–5 | 469 | C+ |
| Wahpeton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 364 | C+ |
| Wahpeton Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 272 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ND on state tests and graduation
21.6% of residents are enrolled in college, against 7.6% statewide, which pulls the median age down.
Adults 18 to 34 are 36% of residents (25% statewide); children under 18 are 14% of residents (24% statewide). 19% of residents are 65 or older in Wahpeton. 23% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across North Dakota.
| Wahpeton | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 13% | 18% |
| Median age | 34.7 years | 33.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 30% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.8 points. Across North Dakota, 48.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 35.7, men 33.0.
| Wahpeton | ND | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.6% | 13% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.8% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 23.3% | 11.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.5% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.5% | 13.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8% | 10.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.7% | 11.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.1% | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.4% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.7% | 6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.5% | 25.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.3% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 20.4% | 14% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.7% | 23% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.4% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 68% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 95 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wahpeton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 0.8°, colder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 82.2°. The Rothsay weather station, 21 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 149 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 95% of North Dakota places with climate records.
Wahpeton has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Wahpeton’s January low is 1°F. About 50 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Wahpeton | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 1°F | 2°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 83°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
45% of Wahpeton households own their home. The typical Wahpeton home is worth about $236,000, up 3.1% in a year, 19% below the North Dakota typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 24.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 53% of North Dakota’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 175 to 77 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Wahpeton is 8.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Wahpeton | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.1 per 1,000 residents | 16.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
About one in 3 of Wahpeton’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Wahpeton fell to 3,648 in 2023, 230 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Fargo (13%), Breckenridge (7%) and Dwight Township (5%).
| Wahpeton | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 39% | 38% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 16 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,558 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wahpeton’s, it is healthier than 83%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Wahpeton beats the North Dakota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8.
| Wahpeton | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 74% | 79% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 29% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 33% | 36% |
| What stands out | Wahpeton | ND |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.7% | 10.8% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 13.3% | 10.7% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 8% | 6.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.9 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Chahinkapa Park, at 58 acres.
| Wahpeton | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.8% | 2.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Chahinkapa Park | 0.3 mi | 58 |
| 2. Wahpeton Disc Golf Course | — | 13 |
| 3. NDSCS Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Wahpeton
College town 22 of every 100 Wahpeton residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across North Dakota.
5 places in Wahpeton on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Wahpeton.
City in North Dakota, United States
Wahpeton ( WAH-pit-ən) is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, North Dakota, United States. Along the Bois de Sioux River at its confluence with the Otter Tail River, which forms the Red River of the North. The population was 8,007 as of the 2020 census, and was estimated at 8,141 in 2025, making it the 10th most populous city in North Dakota. The North Dakota State College of Science is in Wahpeton. The local newspaper is the Wahpeton Daily News. Wahpeton is also home to the Chahinkapa Zoo, the first zoo built in North Dakota.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Wahpeton.
| Town | ND rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wahpeton | #5 | B+ | A− | C+ | B+ | B |
| Center Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dwight Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Center Township and Dwight Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wahpeton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Wahpeton grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #5 of 23 in North Dakota. It grades B for health, C+ for safety and B+ 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 A−.
4 notable people were born here, including Ryan Smith and Jerome G. Miller.
