Why look at Bismarck?
- Moderately priced housing. Median home is $373k.
- Rising market. Home values up +5.7% year-over-year — momentum is positive.
- Growing population. ~1.4%/yr — typically signals jobs + investment.
Where Bismarck stands
At or near all-time high. home values up 5.7% in the last year. rents up 8.0% in the last year.
Home value trajectory · last 10 years
Zillow ZHVI · monthlyLifestyle scores
Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.
Rent trajectory · last 5 years
Zillow ZORI · monthlyHome value vs rent · indexed to 100
Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)Rent vs buy
At a 23.6 price-to-rent ratio, the math is starting to lean toward renting in Bismarck. Buying makes more sense the longer you plan to stay and the more confident you are that prices will keep appreciating roughly in line with rent.
How the momentum score breaks down
methodology →About Bismarck (Wikipedia)
Bismarck is the capital city of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The population was 73,622 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 77,772 in 2024, while its metropolitan population was 133,626. In 2014, Forbes magazine ranked Bismarck as the seventh fastest-growing small city in the United States.
Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.
City facts
Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.
Local safety & alerts
No active National Weather Service alerts for Burleigh County right now.
Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Burleigh County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.
Run the numbers for Bismarck
North Dakota context
Schools
Bismarck is served by 29 public schools enrolling about 13,226 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 15.3:1 — about the same as the US average of ~15:1. Public-school facts are from the NCES Common Core of Data; check ratings and attendance boundaries by exact address below.
Ratings, districts & boundaries:
Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.
Climate & natural-disaster risk
State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.
Current weather
Find rentals & listings
Open current Bismarck listings on the major real-estate sites.
Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.
Local news & community
Latest news in Bismarck
3 from local press- World No Tobacco Day 2026 in Bismarck, North DakotaLOCALThe Bismarck Tribune2d ago
- Bismarck Adult Treatment Court celebrated 25 Years on May 5thLOCALNorth Dakota Court System (.gov)1w ago
- North Dakota Tribal College System concerned by funding cut proposalLOCALGrand Forks Herald1w ago
- What to know about North Dakota’s June 9 primary and new absentee deadlineKFYR-TV1w ago
- How Gas Prices Have Changed in Bismarck in the Last WeekStacker3d ago
- North Dakota track and field athletes compete at state meetKFYR-TV6d ago
What locals are saying
- I want G League basketball back in Bismarck r/bismarck
- Shocking allegations from Bismarck radio icon Delilah: She says a station fired her after she reported sexual r/bismarck
- What do you know about Grimsrud Elementary? r/bismarck
- New to the area r/bismarck
- What do you know about spending all Saturday at Bump M Tilt? r/bismarck
Updated 2026-05-28 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Filtered for Bismarck-specific coverage. Headlines link to original sources.
Local sports teams
Major professional teams the Bismarck area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.
Local economy & environment
Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.
Find more cities like Bismarck
Open the matchmaker pre-filled to match Bismarck’s price band, region, and size — refine to taste.
Find more like Bismarck →Cities similar to Bismarck
Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.
Cost-of-ownership at the median
Snapshot assumes a $150k single earner buying at the median home. Your real numbers depend on bracket, deductions, school district, and HOA. Use the affordability calculator and net-pay calculator for your specific case.
Schools & crime context
School quality is district-by-district and varies dramatically within a city. Check GreatSchools or your state DOE rankings for specific schools before deciding. City-level school data coming soon.
North Dakota: 288 violent crimes per 100K residents (state avg, FBI UCR). Neighborhood-level rates can vary 10× within one city — research specific areas via CrimeGrade or local police data.
Compare to where you live now
Set your current city once and we’ll show the cost delta on every city profile.
Jobs & hiring
In Bismarck, unemployment is very low at 2.5%, and hiring momentum has been steady. The strongest local sectors are healthcare, tech and skilled trades & manufacturing.
Search current openings: