Minot, North Dakota

Population

Down 2.2% since 2020.

47,308

people, the 4th-largest of North Dakota's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among North Dakota's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

4 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

42.4%

of 25,029 jobs located in Minot are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Unemployment, 2026

The low came in May: 1.8%.

2.0%

in August 2026, the latest month released. A year earlier it was 2.5%.

BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, monthly, through August 2026. Not seasonally adjusted, so compare with the same month a year earlier. Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

Rent

Median rent is up 82% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$973

a month. North Dakota's median is $954.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent jumps $507.

A $507 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Ward County.

• $910 Tract 106.02
• $1,417 Tract 112

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.

$1,006–$1,508

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $973 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

65% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 937 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 28% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 65% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.4–1.0% to the 23,956 homes here.

85–250

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 3% more than North Dakota's.

$257,100

median home value in Minot.

• $257,100 Minot
• $249,900 North Dakota
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year