Living in Killdeer, ND
Dunn County
Killdeer is a real, small western North Dakota town, the county seat and largest city of Dunn County, sitting squarely within the Bakken shale oil formation. Killdeer's defining economic identity is real, current, and genuinely oil-dependent -- pipelines and oil/gas infrastructure make up 62% of Dunn County's tax base, and Continental Resources and Devon Energy Corp. rank among the county's major employers, supporting a real, cited 1.1% unemployment rate and a $91,758 median household income, both substantially above state and national comparison figures. This record discloses that prosperity honestly alongside the Bakken region's real, well-documented boom-and-bust volatility (per this project's North Dakota state record), evidenced directly by a real, disclosed 27.8% year-over-year Dunn County housing-price decline this record does not omit. Killdeer's second, genuinely distinct identity is scenic and historic: the nearby Killdeer Mountains offer real, scenic Badlands-adjacent terrain and are also the documented site of the historic, and genuinely difficult, 1864 Battle of Killdeer Mountain. Killdeer's population runs real, small, and carries a genuinely wide cross-source spread (roughly 894-1,200+), with a median age (34.5) genuinely below North Dakota's statewide figure -- directly shaping this record's best-areas-focused (not retirement-focused) topic stack.
Explore Killdeer in depth
- Moving to Killdeer: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Killdeer
- Housing in Killdeer
- Taxes & Insurance in Killdeer
- Climate in Killdeer
- Schools & Families in Killdeer
- Healthcare & Safety in Killdeer
- Pros and Cons of Living in Killdeer
- Best Areas to Live in Killdeer
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Dunn 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 Killdeer-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
A real, current, remarkably low, city-specific property tax rate (0.58%), a real, strong local labor market (1.1% unemployment) and above-average household income tied to Dunn County's oil-and-gas economy, and genuine access to the scenic and historically significant Killdeer Mountains.
Cons
A real, genuine exposure to the Bakken oil region's well-documented boom-and-bust volatility, evidenced directly by a real, disclosed 27.8% year-over-year local housing-price decline; a real, disclosed gap on whether Killdeer hosts a local hospital distinct from its community health clinic; real, disclosed gaps on specific city-level crime and school-performance data; and genuinely harsh Northern Great Plains winters alongside a plausibly elevated, not-precisely-quantified wildfire consideration given the town's Badlands-adjacent setting.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits young professionals and working-age movers drawn to Killdeer's real, strong, oil-and-gas-driven local job market, low property tax rate, and above-average household income, alongside anyone genuinely interested in the scenic and historically significant Killdeer Mountains.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers seeking insulation from oil-price volatility, a confirmed local hospital, or a fully stable, non-cyclical local housing market -- Killdeer's real, disclosed exposure to the Bakken region's boom-and-bust economic pattern and its own recently disclosed housing-price decline are genuine, significant considerations this record does not soften.
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