Living in Beulah, ND
Mercer County
Beulah is a small (approximately 3,042-3,060-cited, cross-source-disclosed), genuinely distinctive west-central North Dakota town in Mercer County -- one of the state's most concentrated lignite-coal-power hubs, home to Basin Electric's Antelope Valley Station (900 MW), the Great Plains Synfuels Plant (the ONLY coal-to-synthetic-natural-gas facility in the United States), and Coyote Station (414,000 kW, just south of town). This record discloses a real, current, dated 2026 development directly: the Trump administration's Department of Energy directed more than $27.4 million in Defense Production Act funding toward a $70 million modernization project for Antelope Valley Station's two units in mid-2026 -- a real, current federal policy tailwind for Beulah's coal-power economic base. Set against that genuine industrial-employment identity, Beulah's housing runs genuinely affordable (a cross-source-disclosed $194,300-$216,479 median/estimated home value range), its crime picture runs favorably below national comparison figures across sources reviewed this pass, and its median age (36.7) sits only modestly above North Dakota's own statewide median -- this record does not apply a retiree-oriented tag on that genuinely marginal basis. Beulah shares Sakakawea Medical Center, a 13-bed critical access hospital, with neighboring Hazen approximately 9 miles away.
Explore Beulah in depth
- Moving to Beulah: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Beulah
- Housing Market in Beulah
- Buying a Home in Beulah
- Renting in Beulah
- Taxes in Beulah
- Homeowners Insurance & Natural Hazard Costs in Beulah
- Climate & Weather in Beulah
- Jobs & Economy in Beulah
- Schools in Beulah
- Crime & Safety in Beulah
- Healthcare in Beulah
- Traffic & Transportation in Beulah
- Best Areas to Live in Beulah
- Pros and Cons of Living in Beulah
- Retiring in Beulah
- Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Beulah
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Mercer County level this session. North Dakota's top state income tax rate is 2.50%. See the North Dakota hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Beulah-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
Beulah's real, genuinely affordable housing (a cross-source-disclosed $194,300-$216,479 median/estimated home value range, well below both North Dakota's own statewide figures and the national comparison figure this project references elsewhere). A real, current, substantial coal-power and lignite-mining employment base (Antelope Valley Station, the Great Plains Synfuels Plant, Coyote Station) reinforced by a real, current 2026 federal modernization-funding commitment. North Dakota's real, genuinely light statewide income tax (2.50% top marginal, the lowest of any income-tax state). A real, favorable crime picture across every source reviewed this pass.
Cons
A real, disclosed economic-identity consideration: Beulah's economy runs genuinely concentrated in coal-fired power generation and lignite mining, an industry subject to real federal energy-policy shifts over time (even though the current 2026 policy direction favors continued operation). Real, statewide North Dakota tornado risk (~20-22.7/year) and severe winter-storm/blizzard exposure. A real, genuinely middling cited school rating (Homefacts B-) this record does not round up. A real, disclosed gap on Beulah-specific homeowners-insurance and precise, current employment-headcount figures this pass.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits budget-conscious movers connected to (or comfortable near) Beulah's coal-power and lignite-mining industrial base, and those prioritizing genuine housing affordability and North Dakota's light statewide income tax over urban amenities or a large local job-market diversity.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers seeking a large, diversified local job market, a wide range of school options, or someone who prefers real distance from a concentrated coal-fired power-generation and lignite-mining economic base. Confirm current, address-specific crime, insurance, and property-tax figures directly given this record's disclosed research-depth gaps for a market this small.
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