The local economy of North Dakota and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
2.2%
August 2026, 2.6% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,333
Q1 2026, 420,702 jobs
New homes permitted
2,139
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
-671
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for North Dakota, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for North Dakota is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in North Dakota was 2.2% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 2.6% a year earlier. 421,012 people were employed out of a labor force of 430,514. Among its counties, Dickey County had the lowest rate (1.0%) and Rolette County the highest (6.5%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in North Dakota was $1,333 in Q1 2026, up 2.4% from a year earlier, across 420,702 jobs at 36,905 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 248 new homes in North Dakota in August 2026 (193 single-family and 47 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 1,563, down 14.1% from the same months last year, and 2,139 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Cass County (908), Burleigh County (278), Grand Forks County (231) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 23,612 people moved to North Dakota and 24,283 moved away, a net loss of 671 (-1.1 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Minnesota, Texas, California, and most people who left went to Minnesota, Texas, Arizona.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for North Dakota. In its region, Midwest, regular gasoline averaged $4.29 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.