Living in Valley City, ND
Valley City is a big small town of 6,541 people in Barnes County, North Dakota. It's about 56 miles from Fargo, ND and 265 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 81°F and winter highs 18°F, with about 44 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $162k and rent runs about $780 a month.
6,541people
$162kTypical home
$780/moRent
81° / 18°Summer / winter
44"Snow
243Sunny days
78Rain/snow days
Is Valley City right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Big small town of 6,541
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,523 people per sq mi
- 265 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 56 mi to Fargo, ND
- 33 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $162k (≈$1,023/mo)
- Median rent $780/mo
- Median household income $60k
- Property tax about 1.2% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 81°F
- Winter highs around 18°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 55°F)
- 243 sunny days a year (72 totally clear)
- 122 cloudy days a year
- 38 of 90 winter days are gray
- 78 days a year with rain or snow
- 44" of snow a year
- 16 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 82 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Very low violent crime (19 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (93 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 39
- 25% of households have kids
- 23% are 65 or older
- 31% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 12% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 18 min
- 7% walk or take transit to work
- 32 mi to JMS airport
- 270 mi to MSP (major hub)
- 102 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 58% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1962
- 81% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 1,224 ft
- 723 mi to the ocean
- 101 mi to a big lake
- 35 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 27 mi to the nearest ski area
- 8 mi to the nearest campground
- 2 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 4 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 5 bars within 25 mi
- Few or no coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 1 museum within 25 mi
- 1 brewery or distillery within 25 mi
- 57 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 29% of North Dakota districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 1 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 103 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- Dog park in town
- 17 congregations per 10k people
- College in town
Politics
- Barnes County: R+35 in 2024
- North Dakota: R+37 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Moderate tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk