State rental market analysis · ND
North Dakota rental markets
13 tracked cities over 5,000 population, 13 ranked and summarized by their median Overall; 0 of 13 evaluable cities pass the modeled Buy & Hold screen. Every number traces to Census, Zillow and BLS. Compare state coverage and results →
Browse every North Dakota ZIP Code area → · the full server-rendered index for this state.
Part of the West North Central Census division (Midwest region).
The honest read
North Dakota has a median Overall of 41.2/100 across its ranked cities, but it is not assigned a headline state rank: 13 cities across 12 county contexts are evaluable for the Buy & Hold screen, below the published minimum of 20 cities and 10 county contexts. 13 ranked cities roll up into this grade. Its strongest factor is low unemployment: 2.5%, 4th of 51.
The biggest drag is income growth: 3.1%, 50th of 51. A state grade is the median of its ranked cities, a screen for where to look, not underwriting. Open any city below for its full shown-math breakdown, or run a specific deal through the cap rate and cash-flow calculators.
Where it ranks, factor by factor
Every value is the median across the 13 ranked cities in this state. The national rank compares all 51 states on that one factor; the engine already flips inverted factors (affordability, low unemployment) so a better rank always means a better market. Each factor sits in one of the model’s three categories (Cash Flow, Growth, or Stability); this is a representative summary, and the full thirteen-factor breakdown is on each city’s page. Full methodology.
| Factor | Category | State value | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross rent yield | Cash Flow | 4.4% | #43 of 51 |
| Rent growth | Growth | 4.3% | #21 of 51 |
| Home value growth | Growth | 3.4% | #37 of 51 |
| Population growth | Growth | 0.8% | #18 of 51 |
| Job growth | Growth | 0.9% | #20 of 51 |
| Price-to-income | Cash Flow | 4.5× | #22 of 51 |
| Unemployment | Stability | 2.5% | #4 of 51 |
| Rental demand | Stability | 47% renters · 7.5% vacancy | two-part measure |
| Income growth | Growth | 3.1% | #50 of 51 |
Every city in North Dakota, ranked
Led by West Fargo at 51/100. Click any column to re-sort; every city links to its full shown-math breakdown.
| ND rank | City | Grade | Cash Flow | Growth | Stability | Typical home value | Gross yield | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Fargo | 51 | D | B | C | $358,715 | 4.1% | #1793 |
| 2 med | Wahpeton | 50 | C | C | C | $239,219 | 5.3% | #1908 |
| 3 | Mandan | 47 | D | B | C | $346,743 | 4.9% | #2410 |
| 4 | Jamestown | 47 | C | D | C | $212,121 | 6.2% | #2501 |
| 5 | Minot | 44 | C | D | C | $280,355 | 5.4% | #2888 |
| 6 | Bismarck | 42 | D | B | C | $377,821 | 4.1% | #3156 |
| 7 med | Devils Lake | 41 | D | D | B | $247,081 | 5.2% | #3266 |
| 8 | Grand Forks | 41 | D | B | D | $304,143 | 4.6% | #3273 |
| 9 | Fargo | 40 | D | B | D | $324,126 | 4.0% | #3468 |
| 10 | Dickinson | 39 | C | D | C | $330,430 | 4.6% | #3509 |
| 11 | Watford City | 37 | C | D | C | $382,846 | 3.9% | #3762 |
| 12 | Valley City | 34 | D | D | D | $200,821 | 5.0% | #4036 |
| 13 | Williston | 28 | D | D | D | $375,622 | 4.0% | #4393 |
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2020–2024 · Census PEP July 2025 · BLS LAUS county 2025 annual (11-month average). Generated 2026-10-06. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.
ZIP markets in North Dakota
389 Census ZIP Codes (ZCTAs) in North Dakota · 110 data-eligible for subscores. These are sub-city government areas ranked separately from the North Dakota city table. The overall Rental Investor ZIP Score leaderboard leads; the two component subscores (affordability, rental-market context) follow as independent percentiles. ZIP ranks are shown within the ZIP universe only, never mixed with, and not directly comparable to, city ranks. Vintage: the Key metric column is Census ACS 2020–2024 (5-year), the same release the city table above uses; the geographies differ, so the same measure can still disagree between the two.
Best overall ZIP Codes in North Dakota
Ranked by the overall Rental Investor ZIP Score. The # is each ZIP Code's canonical ND state rank; the smaller figure is its national rank. Separate from the North Dakota city table and not directly comparable to it.
| ND rank | ZIP Code | Overallgrade · national | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 58104Fargo | A 71#408 nat | 3.7%Survey yield |
| #2 | 58078West Fargo | A 70#535 nat | 4.1%Survey yield |
| #3 | 58103Fargo | A 70#565 nat | 4.2%Survey yield |
| #4 | 58503Bismarck | A 66#1,418 nat | 3.5%Survey yield |
| #5 | 58554Mandan | B 64#2,093 nat | 4.7%Survey yield |
| #6 | 58102Fargo | B 63#2,176 nat | 4.1%Survey yield |
| #7 | 58504Bismarck | B 63#2,244 nat | 3.9%Survey yield |
| #8 | 58201Grand Forks | B 62#2,721 nat | 4.1%Survey yield |
| #9 | 58501Bismarck | B 62#2,841 nat | 3.9%Survey yield |
| #10 | 58047Horace | B 62#2,885 nat | 6.0%Survey yield |
| #11 | 58622Belfield | B 60#3,466 nat | 5.3%Survey yield |
| #12 | 58012Casselton | B 60#3,729 nat | 3.4%Survey yield |
Top affordability ZIP Codes in North Dakota
State-scoped leaders on the affordability subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Substantially an inverse housing-cost signal: a component of the overall score, not a predicted return.
| # | ZIP Code | Affordability | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 58316Shell Valley | 91#320 nat | 7.3%Survey yield |
| 2 | 58568Selfridge | 89#445 nat | 7.0%Survey yield |
| 3 | 58243Hoople | 86#662 nat | 10.2%Survey yield |
| 4 | 58852Tioga | 75#2,115 nat | 6.5%Survey yield |
| 5 | 58533Elgin | 73#2,382 nat | 8.4%Survey yield |
| 6 | 58757Mandaree | 73#2,382 nat | 5.1%Survey yield |
| 7 | 58740Glenburn | 73#2,464 nat | 8.2%Survey yield |
| 8 | 58759Max | 72#2,652 nat | 7.5%Survey yield |
| 9 | 58256Manvel | 71#2,780 nat | 7.5%Survey yield |
| 10 | 58413Ashley | 71#2,881 nat | 10.9%Survey yield |
| 11 | 58529Carson | 70#2,960 nat | 8.8%Survey yield |
| 12 | 58770Parshall | 69#3,281 nat | 5.1%Survey yield |
Deepest rental-market ZIP Codes in North Dakota
State-scoped leaders on the rental-market-context subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Rental depth/tightness: a separate component, never combined here with affordability.
| # | ZIP Code | Rental market | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 58301Devils Lake | 80#200 nat | 4.2%Survey yield |
| 2 | 58104Fargo | 77#680 nat | 3.7%Survey yield |
| 3 | 58538Cannon Ball | 76#711 nat | 6.1%Survey yield |
| 4 | 58770Parshall | 75#945 nat | 5.1%Survey yield |
| 5 | 58012Casselton | 72#1,523 nat | 3.4%Survey yield |
| 6 | 58040Gwinner | 70#1,912 nat | 5.2%Survey yield |
| 7 | 58568Selfridge | 69#2,262 nat | 7.0%Survey yield |
| 8 | 58270Park River | 68#2,478 nat | 6.1%Survey yield |
| 9 | 58103Fargo | 68#2,669 nat | 4.2%Survey yield |
| 10 | 58075Wahpeton | 64#3,956 nat | 4.9%Survey yield |
| 11 | 58201Grand Forks | 63#4,343 nat | 4.1%Survey yield |
| 12 | 58722Burlington | 62#4,642 nat | 5.0%Survey yield |