North Dakotaincome tax up to 2.5%, 23rd highest property tax, median home $255K

Worth knowing before you move to North Dakota

North Dakota's income tax is now among the lowest of any state that has one, with a top rate under 2.5% after 2023 cuts funded by oil revenue, and it stopped taxing Social Security in 2021. Housing is inexpensive and the state has the lowest unemployment in the country in most years. Winters are severe, and the Bakken oil economy makes the western counties boom and bust.

What North Dakota taxes, and what it doesn't

North Dakota levies a graduated income tax that tops out at 2.5%. A household earning $75,000 pays an effective 0.7%, about $517 a year; at $150,000 the effective rate is 1.3%. Among the 41 states that tax income, North Dakota has the lowest effective rate at $100,000 of income.

Property tax runs 0.88% of home value a year, roughly $2,244 on the state's median home of $255K. The national effective rate is about 1.10%, and North Dakota has the 23rd highest rate of the 50 states.

Combined state and local sales tax averages 6.97%, the 24th lowest in the country (the state portion is 5%).

For retirees: Social Security benefits are not taxed, pension income is partly exempt, and there is no estate or inheritance tax.

Capital gains are taxed as ordinary income.

Housing and the cost of living in North Dakota

North Dakota's cost of living index is 98, where 100 is the national average; that is the 24th most expensive of the 50 states.

The median home costs $255K, 16% below the national figure and the 14th lowest among the states. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,100 a month.

Carrying costs matter as much as the price: home insurance averages $2,200 a year, flood coverage adds about $600 where it is needed, car insurance runs $1,290.

Budget $125 a month for electricity and gas, $470 a month in groceries for two, $1,050 a month for full-time infant care.

Safety, health and schools

Violent crime is 285 incidents per 100,000 residents in the FBI's 2023 Crime Data Explorer figures, below the median state (387); North Dakota is the 16th safest of the 50 by that measure. Property crime is 1,779 per 100,000.

Life expectancy is 78.8 years (County Health Rankings 2024). 7.5% of residents have no health insurance, and the state has expanded Medicaid. The Commonwealth Fund's 2023 scorecard ranks North Dakota's health system 27th of 50.

Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks K-12 schools 17th in the country.

Politics, guns and social policy

Politically, North Dakota is a solidly Republican state that went to Trump by 33 points in 2024.

On guns, no permit is required to carry a concealed handgun, and Giffords grades the state's gun laws F.

Abortion is banned with narrow exceptions. Marijuana is medical only. North Dakota is a right-to-work state, and the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

Climate, risk and getting around

Natural disaster risk is moderate. The main hazards are blizzard, tornado, flood. Annual average air quality index is 25 (under 50 is good).

North Dakota has no top-25 hub airport, with about 20 nonstop destinations from its busiest airport.