The local economy of North Dakota and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
2.2%
-0.4 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Dickey County 1.0%, highest Rolette County 6.5%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,333
+2.4%vs a year ago
420,702 jobs at 36,905 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
2,139
-14.1%this year vs last year
Most in Cass County 908, Burleigh County 278.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
-671
-1.1 per 1,000residents
23,612 moved in and 24,283 moved out. Most newcomers came from Minnesota.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
North Dakota gas price
$4.15
+$1.28vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Cass County $3.90, highest Steele County $4.65. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, North Dakota, October 10, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
25K
+1.2%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
352K
+2.9%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (18.2%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$21.9B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$62,211
Highest sector: Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction $124,502.
Per employee per year
Share of North Dakota's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 23,792 | $22,265 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 19,951 | $78,794 |
| Support Activities for Mining | 12,751 | $115,385 |
| Depository Credit Intermediation | 8,841 | $77,485 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | 8,661 | $83,423 |
| General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters | 7,552 | $31,791 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 7,046 | $76,495 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) | 6,949 | $41,409 |
| Traveler Accommodation | 6,519 | $29,141 |
| Gasoline Stations | 6,064 | $34,822 |
| Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers | 5,923 | $89,705 |
| Grocery Stores | 5,854 | $24,413 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Offered pay in certified work-visa filings, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). Click a company for its jobs and salaries.
In fiscal year 2025, employers offered a median of $71,000 a year in 482 certified H-1B filings for jobs in North Dakota, up 5.0% from 2024 (US: $120,000). The largest job group was Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists. Fiscal year 2026 so far covers filings decided through Jun 30, 2026.
Median offered pay
$71,000
+5.0%vs 2024
Middle half: $59,834 to $90,000.
H-1B, fiscal year 2025
H-1B filings
482
+12.4%vs 2024
516 positions asked for.
Certified, full-time, fiscal year 2025
Top job group
$66,176
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists, 72 filings.
Median offered pay of the largest job group
Green card jobs
$40,872
-4.8%vs 2024
303 PERM filings.
PERM median, fiscal year 2025
Median and middle half of the offers in North Dakota, next to the US median. Hover a year for the numbers.
| Job group | Filings | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists | 72 | $66,176 |
| Registered Nurses | 43 | $72,800 |
| Physicians, All Other | 32 | $98,280 |
| Software Developers | 28 | $87,079 |
| Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education | 21 | $52,000 |
| Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | 18 | $52,250 |
| Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary | 18 | $75,110 |
| Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education | 12 | $50,400 |
| Mechanical Engineers | 11 | $85,000 |
| Special Education Teachers, Elementary School | 11 | $55,425 |
| Employer | Filings | Cities |
|---|---|---|
| University of North Dakota | 50 | 3 |
| North Dakota State University | 38 | 6 |
| Altru Health System | 20 | 2 |
| Sanford | 20 | 5 |
| New Town Public School District 1 | 18 | 1 |
| Sanford Bismarck | 15 | 1 |
| Sanford Clinic | 14 | 2 |
| Three Affiliated Tribes Head Start | 11 | 1 |
| Trinity Health | 9 | 2 |
| West River Health Services | 9 | 1 |
| City | Filings | Median pay | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fargo | 122 | $83,572 | $65,900 to $100,000 |
| Grand Forks | 72 | $71,812 | $66,333 to $95,194 |
| Bismarck | 56 | $92,300 | $69,353 to $105,997 |
| New Town | 31 | $52,000 | $50,400 to $52,000 |
| Minot | 20 | $79,019 | $63,976 to $143,770 |
| Williston | 14 | $72,848 | $68,545 to $74,947 |
| Jamestown | 10 | $82,057 | $75,283 to $93,174 |
| Dickinson | 10 | $79,914 | $67,564 to $86,065 |
| Devils Lake | 10 | $67,964 | $65,832 to $68,058 |
| Valley City | 9 | $69,333 | $68,640 to $74,506 |
Yearly pay that employers offered in certified work-visa filings (H-1B, E-3 and PERM green card), from official public data. Pay is the lower end of the offered pay range, for full-time positions only. These are offered pay figures for positions in work-visa filings, not the pay of all employees. A filing is an offer for a position, not a hire, and one person can appear in several filings. Fiscal years run from October to September. Groups with fewer than 3 filings show counts only. Employers are ranked by filings in the cities of North Dakota added up.
Declared disasters and flood insurance claims: what happened, from official public data.
North Dakota has had 76 declared disasters and emergencies since 1957, 49 of them since 2000, most often Flood. Flood insurance has paid $259.5 million on 13,307 claims since 1978; the biggest year was 1997 ($97.4 million).
Declared disasters
49
39 major disasters. Most often Flood (33 since 1957).
Since 2000, all types; 76 since 1957
Flood claims paid
$1.28M
233 claims. Biggest year 1997 ($97.4M).
2016 to 2025, flood insurance
Policies in force
5,918
Average premium $804 a year.
2025, flood insurance policies
Most-declared county
24
Walsh County, latest Jul 5, 2023.
Declarations since 2000
Declarations for North Dakota, 1957 to today
Claims paid in North Dakota by the year of the flood, US dollars
Declarations since 1957
Declarations naming the county since 2000; statewide ones not counted
All years since 1978; policies are a yearly average. Top 15 of 49.
| # | County | Claims | Paid | Policies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Forks County | 3,114 | $75.5M | 1,157 |
| 2 | Ward County | 1,107 | $69.5M | 2,106 |
| 3 | Ramsey County | 1,103 | $37.6M | 210 |
| 4 | Cass County | 3,345 | $24.8M | 4,453 |
| 5 | Burleigh County | 698 | $15.3M | 874 |
| 6 | Benson County | 420 | $11.2M | 55 |
| 7 | Pembina County | 610 | $3.72M | 197 |
| 8 | Walsh County | 782 | $3.08M | 426 |
| 9 | Morton County | 216 | $2.83M | 253 |
| 10 | Barnes County | 389 | $2.67M | 253 |
| 11 | Richland County | 223 | $2.30M | 124 |
| 12 | Traill County | 128 | $1.52M | 54 |
| 13 | Emmons County | 82 | $1.13M | 22 |
| 14 | Nelson County | 52 | $1.02M | 5 |
| 15 | Stutsman County | 127 | $758K | 115 |
A declaration opens federal help after a disaster; it can name counties or the whole state. Flood insurance numbers count insured losses only (most homes have no flood insurance) and are not adjusted for inflation; the current year is data so far. For the flood-zone risk of a place, open the area on the real estate map.
Environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports of facilities in North Dakota, from official public data.
Official public data lists 3,465 facilities in North Dakota with records since 2010, 3,400 of them with environmental compliance records. In 2022 to 2026, the largest penalties were at Henry Charging USA 41-3H; Henry Charging USA 31-3tfh in New Town ($64,500,000). 100 large facilities reported 37.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2023, down 7.7% from 2022.
Facilities with records
3,465
3,400 with environmental records.
Since 2010
Largest penalties
$64.5M
Henry Charging USA 41-3H; Henry Charging USA 31-3tfh, New Town.
One facility, 2022 to 2026
Greenhouse gases
37.2M t
-7.7%vs 2022
100 reporting facilities.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
Largest emitter
7.72M t
Coal Creek, Underwood.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
| Facility | Penalties | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| Henry Charging USA 41-3H; Henry Charging USA 31-3tfh New Town | $64,500,000 | 0 |
| Targa- Clark'S Creek Compressor Station Keene | $3,234,219 | 0 |
| Abf Freight System INC Fargo | $535,000 | 0 |
| Arrow Pipeline Station #3 North Dakota | $450,000 | 0 |
| Eog- Clarks Creek Central Facility Mandaree | $333,087 | 0 |
| Ccuprairierose1btfh Meriwether1ambh-Ulw Prairierose1ambh-Ulw Oakdale | $170,000 | 0 |
| Great Plains Synfuels Plant Beulah | $130,985 | 13 |
| Quala - Killdeer Killdeer | $88,000 | 5 |
| Chicago3-26h Chicago4-26h Syracuse3-23h Syracuse4-23h Twin Valley, Township of | $75,000 | 0 |
| Fargo City of Fargo | $56,266 | 0 |
| Facility | Metric tons CO2e |
|---|---|
| Coal Creek Underwood | 7,716,347 |
| Antelope Valley Beulah | 5,389,116 |
| Minnkota Power Cooperative INC Milton R Young Station Center | 4,993,025 |
| Leland Olds Stanton | 3,785,800 |
| Coyote Beulah | 2,935,490 |
| Great Plains Synfuels Plant Beulah | 2,873,469 |
| Williston Basin (Petro-Hunt, LLC) Killdeer | 1,005,224 |
| Marathon Mandan Refinery Mandan | 682,316 |
| Marathon Oil Company - Williston Basin (AAPG Basin 395) Dickinson | 663,709 |
| Basin Electric Power Cooperative - Lonesome Creek Generating Station Alexander | 594,890 |
Large facilities in North Dakota, metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Hover a year for the number.
Their facilities in North Dakota, 2022 to 2026. Click a company for its Risk & Compliance tab.
| Company | Facilities | Penalties | CO2e (t) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ArcBest Corporation ARCB | 2 | $535K | - |
| Marathon Petroleum Corporation MPC | 7 | $15K | 894K |
| Archer-Daniels-Midland Company ADM | 5 | $0 | 79K |
| Chevron Corporation CVX | 4 | $0 | 411K |
Official public data on environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports, summarized by facility and year since 2010. A record does not mean a site is unsafe today; penalties and violations vary a lot by industry and size. Penalties are the amounts assessed (after settlements), not amounts paid. Recent years can still change.
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
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. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for North Dakota, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
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.
Regular gasoline in North Dakota averaged $4.15 per gallon on October 10, 2026, up $1.28 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $6.00. Among its counties, Cass County had the lowest regular price ($3.90) and Steele County the highest ($4.65).
Health Care and Social Assistance (64,188 employees), Retail Trade (45,791 employees), Accommodation and Food Services (34,052 employees) were the largest sectors in North Dakota in 2023. In all, 25,402 business locations employed 352,108 people at an average pay of $62,211 a year.
$71,000 a year was the median pay offered in 482 certified H-1B filings for jobs in North Dakota in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), up 5.0% from 2024. The middle half of the offers ranged from $59,834 to $90,000. The US median was $120,000. These are offered pay figures in work-visa filings, not the pay of all workers.
University of North Dakota (50), North Dakota State University (38), Altru Health System (20), Sanford (20), New Town Public School District 1 (18) had the most certified H-1B filings for jobs in North Dakota in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025).
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists (72 filings, median $66,176), Registered Nurses (43 filings, median $72,800), Physicians, All Other (32 filings, median $98,280) were the largest job groups in certified H-1B filings in North Dakota in fiscal year 2025.
$92,300 was the median offered pay in Bismarck, the highest among the North Dakota cities with the most H-1B filings in fiscal year 2025 (56 filings).
$40,872 a year was the median pay offered in 303 certified PERM green card filings for jobs in North Dakota in fiscal year 2025.
76 disasters and emergencies have been declared for North Dakota since 1957, 49 of them since 2000 (39 major disasters). The most common type is Flood (33 declarations).
Walsh County, with 24 declarations since 2000, followed by Grand Forks County (23) and Pembina County (22). Statewide declarations are not counted for single counties.
$259.5 million on 13,307 flood insurance claims since 1978. The biggest year was 1997, with $97.4 million paid on 4,701 claims. Grand Forks County received the most ($75.5 million).
$804 a year in 2025, across 5,918 flood insurance policies in North Dakota. Most homes have no flood insurance; the premium depends on the home's flood risk and coverage.