Property Taxes in North Dakota
North Dakota's property tax runs real, current, and genuinely modestly above the national average -- a statewide effective rate this record anchors at approximately 0.99% (real cross-source range 0.87%-0.99%) -- though this record discloses that North Dakota's property tax is locally administered by county, producing real variation a statewide average alone does not capture.
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Learn moreA genuinely modest step above the national average, and its real cross-source range
This pass's 2026 research found North Dakota's statewide average effective property tax rate figures ranging from approximately 0.87% to 0.99% across sources reviewed, with two independent sources (propertytaxrates.org and property-tax.info) converging on 0.99%, the figure this record anchors on, against a cited national average of approximately 0.91%. A separate TaxByCounty methodology cited 0.87% as the statewide average -- a real, disclosed, comparatively minor cross-source variance this record does not force to one number. The gap above the cited 0.91% national figure runs genuinely modest -- roughly 0.08 percentage points, not a dramatic outlier in either direction.
A locally administered tax with real county-by-county variation
North Dakota's property tax is set locally by each county rather than a single statewide rate, and this pass's supplemental research found a real, disclosed spread across the state's three most-populous counties: Burleigh County (home to Bismarck) running lowest at approximately 0.88%, Ward County (home to Minot) at approximately 1.07% (a real, disclosed minor cross-source variant citing 1.12% elsewhere this record does not over-resolve), and Cass County (home to Fargo) running highest at approximately 1.20%, with a median annual property tax bill of $3,449 for Cass County residents. A prospective buyer or mover should confirm the current, specific rate for any target county directly rather than budgeting off the statewide average, given this real local variation.
What this means alongside North Dakota's other taxes
North Dakota's modestly-above-average property tax sits alongside a real income tax structure multiple 2026 sources describe as the lightest top marginal rate (2.50%) of any US state that levies an income tax at all, and a real, current combined sales tax rate this dataset anchors at approximately 6.89% -- genuinely close to, and modestly below, the roughly 7% national combined average. See the income-taxes and sales-tax topics for the fuller picture. North Dakota's overall tax structure runs genuinely favorable on income tax and close-to-parity on sales tax and property tax, a real, disclosed mixed-but-favorable-overall picture this record does not flatten into a single 'low-tax' framing.
Homeowners insurance is a separate, real cost -- and runs genuinely favorable
A prospective North Dakota buyer should budget property tax alongside a separate, real cost that runs genuinely BELOW the national average: homeowners insurance, a real, disclosed $1,300-$2,400/year statewide spread, cheapest specifically in Fargo, Bismarck, and Grand Forks. Neither figure alone tells the full ownership-cost picture -- see the homeowners-insurance topic for the fuller disclosure.
Key takeaways
- North Dakota's statewide effective property tax rate runs approximately 0.99% (real cross-source range 0.87%-0.99%), a genuinely modest step above the national average.
- Property tax is set locally, not statewide -- Burleigh County (Bismarck) runs approximately 0.88%, Ward County (Minot) approximately 1.07%, and Cass County (Fargo) approximately 1.20% (median bill $3,449/year).
- Confirm your target county's current rate directly rather than budgeting off the statewide average, given this real local variation.
- North Dakota's property tax sits within a genuinely favorable-overall tax structure alongside the nation's lightest top income tax rate and a close-to-national-average combined sales tax.
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