Stutsman County, ND

County Profile

21,549 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Stutsman County, ND.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

58out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 48% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 38% of 1,463 counties measured61
GrowthTop 50% of 1,453 counties measured51
Housing affordability942nd of 1,462 counties measured70
Climate1,449th of 1,463 counties measured46
Physical resilienceTop 26% of 1,463 counties measured76
Access1,416th of 1,463 counties measured12
Economic stability751st of 1,463 counties measured59
The quick read

Unemployment is 2.0% and median household income $61,856, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

Rent takes 31% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.3 times what its owners earn.

The nearest major airport, Hector Intl, is 101 miles away — farther than 97% of measured US counties.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
21,549
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$61,856
Bottom 41% nationally
Density
10/sq mi
2,221.9 sq mi of land
Median age
41.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Stutsman County
North Dakota
Micro area
Nearest major airport
FAR
101 mi · Hector Intl
Median home value
$208,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 2.0%, lower than in 99% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 1.7% over the past year, to 11,120 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$49,21420th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$57,18649th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,2032024 ACS 5-Year$61,856Bottom 41%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,8852024 ACS 5-Year$39,731Top 26%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$68,583Top 19%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year12.2%Top 44%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year15.8 minTop 4%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year25.9%Top 35%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year79.5%64th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202611,120Bottom 13%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 20260.0%Top 50%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.7%Bottom 29%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202611,34212th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year78.3%Top 36%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%30th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Top 47%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20262.0%Top 1%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.7%32nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.21.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 2.0% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202462k55k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $61,856 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

50% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 57% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 10.0 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
15
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.0
across 12 of them
Math proficiency
49.8%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
56.7%
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 15 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Jamestown High SchoolJAMESTOWN 172213.142%67%
Jamestown Middle SchoolJAMESTOWN 14669.953%58%
William S Gussner Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN 1239—67%62%
Roosevelt Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN 12166.857%42%
Lincoln Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN 1179—62%57%
Louis L'amour Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN 11138.165%65%
Medina High SchoolMEDINA 310314.710%30%
Medina Elementary SchoolMEDINA 310310.355%55%
Pingree-Buchanan Elementary SchoolPINGREE-BUCHANAN 1010212.855%45%
Washington Elementary SchoolJAMESTOWN 1976.545%35%
Montpelier Elementary SchoolMONTPELIER 14616.870%70%
Pingree-Buchanan High SchoolPINGREE-BUCHANAN 105814.530%50%

32.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against North Dakota’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of North Dakota is up 39% over five years, and up 4.6% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,289 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.10% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $873, some 13% above the $774 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $873 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $34,900 a year, about 56% of the median household income here of $61,856.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $774 a month.

A median home at $208,400 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $90,843, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
31.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$873
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$774
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$208,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Stutsman County’s median household income of $61,856, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of North Dakota’s figure2026 Q2+4.6%70th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of North Dakota’s figure2026 Q2+38.8%24th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of North Dakota’s figure2026 Q2+56.3%4th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 38%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year63.1%11th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±502024 ACS 5-Year10,41344th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$680Top 4%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,214Top 13%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$873Top 5%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$492024 ACS 5-Year$774Top 28%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,5242024 ACS 5-Year$208,40059th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1502024 ACS 5-Year$2,28972nd percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,3852024 ACS 5-Year$90,843Top 23%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year1.10%72nd percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year31.2%Bottom 19%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±582024 ACS 5-Year13926th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.3%32nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.0%42nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2342024 ACS 5-Year97630th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

51/ 100
Top 50% of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 3 years of a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 21,546 in 2024.

Permit activity rose in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 26 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Stutsman County in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $49,214, below the $57,186 of households that moved out.

At 1.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
26
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.2
Bottom 22% nationally
Year over year
+53%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202422k22k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
52%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$49,214
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$57,186
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Cass County, ND 67 people · 8.7% of arrivals
  2. Barnes County, ND 56 people · 7.3% of arrivals
  3. Burleigh County, ND 36 people · 4.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Cass County, ND 90 people · 11% of departures
  2. Burleigh County, ND 63 people · 8.0% of departures
  3. Barnes County, ND 44 people · 5.6% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420252214
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+57%).

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 81°F and January a low of 1°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 19.8 inches.

-10°10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station JAMESTOWN MUNI AP, 13.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals19.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals1°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals81°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals60°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

76 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are cold wave, inland flooding and hail, with cold wave alone responsible for 42% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 74% of measured US counties.

Winter weatherElevated
HailElevated
Cold waveElevated
Ice stormElevated
Strong windHigh
TornadoHigh

Low or minimal exposure: wildfire, landslide, drought, inland flooding, heat wave, earthquake, lightning, volcanic activity, avalanche, coastal flooding, hurricane, tsunami.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Stutsman County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 12.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 10.9 per 100,000 residents in Stutsman County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
10.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
20.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Stutsman County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

No airport meeting the AreaProfile major-airport definition lies within 100 miles; the nearest is 101 miles away.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year87.2%Top 48%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle101 miBottom 3%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle0Bottom 1%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year11.4%Bottom 41%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Hector IntlFAR101 mi9,001 ft
Joe Foss FldFSD258 mi9,000 ft
Rapid City RgnlRAP283 mi8,701 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
58
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April 2025 to March 2026; March 2025 to February 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

Cities in Stutsman County, ND