Bismarck Ranks Among America's Safest Cities In 2025

How safe do you feel living in North Dakota?

Let's face it, there's always danger lurking in just about every city in America, but I can't help but feel like we are pretty lucky overall, living in the Peace Garden State. As somebody who has visited most of the major cities in the United States, I can tell you there is a much different feeling walking around places like Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, or Atlanta, compared to say Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, or Minot.

Yes, we have bad things and bad people in all of our four major cities in North Dakota, and even our smaller cities and towns. With that being said, I can truthfully say I have never felt unsafe walking around a North Dakota city, even at night.

Just how safe are we living in North Dakota?

Pretty safe, comparatively speaking, according to our friends at WalletHub. They just put together their list of the safest cities in America for 2025. Some cities are just better at protecting their citizens than others. WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 41 key indicators of safety. Those include traffic fatalities per capita and assaults per capita to unemployment rate, and the percentage of the population that is uninsured.

Which city in North Dakota is in the Top 20 Safest in America? None other than BISMARCK!

Nathan Livedalen

The Capital City checked in at #20! We scored especially well in the Financial Safety department. Again, every city has its bad apples and sketchy areas, but you have to admit we are pretty lucky living in Bismarck when it comes to feeling safe.

Fargo also made the list, coming in at #39, but I'm guessing that after some of the shootings they have had this past year, they will be falling down this list considerably in 2026.

Other cities in our region that also made the Top 100 Safest Cities in America include:

#38 - Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

#47 - St. Paul, Minnesota.

#53 - Rapid City, South Dakota.

#68 - Billings, Montana.