Living in Mandan, ND

Morton County

Mandan is real, current Bismarck's twin city, sitting directly across the Missouri River in Morton County and sharing a combined Bismarck-Mandan Chamber EDC and a nearly 150-year shared business history. Mandan's own real, distinct local manufacturing anchor -- Cloverdale Foods, a 500-employee meat-processing plant headquartered in Mandan since 1915 -- sits alongside many residents' commutes across the river to Bismarck-based employment. Housing runs genuinely, modestly below the national comparison figure (an average home value near $349,814, a median sale price near $332,000), while Mandan's real, cited effective property tax rate (1.26%) runs modestly above both North Dakota's own statewide median and the national median, even as the city's own consolidated mill levy has been declining in recent years. Mandan's real, cited crime data runs genuinely, substantially unfavorable -- NeighborhoodScout cited more than 98% of North Dakota's own communities as carrying a lower crime rate than Mandan, the single most unfavorable within-state comparison found across this project's North Dakota Tier A markets. Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park -- North Dakota's oldest state park, home to the reconstructed Custer House and the replica Mandan On-A-Slant Indian Village -- sits seven miles south of the city and is a real, genuine, defining part of Mandan's historic identity.

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Housing

Median sale price$332,000
Median price per sq. ft.$139

Taxes

Local effective property tax rate1.26%

Not independently sourced at the Morton 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 Mandan-specific.

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The tradeoffs

Pros

A real, close twin-city relationship with Bismarck, sharing regional economic-development infrastructure and access to state-government employment. Housing runs genuinely, modestly below the national comparison figure. Cloverdale Foods provides a real, distinct local manufacturing anchor. Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park (North Dakota's oldest) sits just south of the city, and Bismarck Municipal Airport sits directly across the river.

Cons

Mandan's crime data runs genuinely, substantially unfavorable -- more than 98% of North Dakota's own communities carry a lower rate, the most unfavorable within-state crime comparison across this project's North Dakota Tier A markets. The effective property tax rate (1.26%) and combined 8.25% sales tax rate both run above North Dakota's own statewide averages. School proficiency figures ran genuinely mixed (reading below the state average, math exactly tied). No full, Mandan-specific hospital exists -- residents rely on Bismarck's larger systems for inpatient and advanced specialty care.

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits movers wanting genuinely affordable housing and a close, practical relationship to Bismarck's larger job market and healthcare systems, plus those drawn to Mandan's real historic riverside identity and Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers who prioritize crime-data certainty above other factors (Mandan's cited crime data runs genuinely, substantially unfavorable relative to nearly all other North Dakota communities), or those needing a full hospital within city limits rather than a short drive to Bismarck.

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Last reviewed: 2026-08-28. Independent research; see individual metric entries above for source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.