Fargo, ND vs New York, NY
Moving from Fargo to New York? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($327,854 → $727,625 median home) and taxes.
Fargo vs New York at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Fargo, ND, you'd need about $126,376 in New York, NY (+$26,376).
Livability — Fargo, ND: 68 · New York, NY: 44 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,592 sqft in Fargo vs 1,099 sqft in New York ($193 vs $455 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fargo, ND | New York, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,872 | $42,036 | +$28,164 |
| Groceries | $4,850 | $5,415 | +$565 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,895 | +$765 |
| Utilities | $1,332 | $3,180 | +$1,848 |
| Insurance | $2,100 | $1,600 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $8,083 | $23,496 | +$15,413 |
| Total | $33,367 | $79,622 | +$46,255 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fargo, ND | New York, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.1 | 112.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.11% | 6.55% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.2% | -1.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $327,854 | $727,625 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.5× | 7.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.2% | 4.1% |
| Price per square foot | $193 | $455 |
| Median rent | $1,156 | $3,503 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.8% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.04% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.20% | 1.74% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 18 | 36 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 12.3 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.45 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $98 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $70 | $87 |
| Home internet / mo | $88 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 290 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | -2 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 22.6 | 49.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 50.0 | 29.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |