New York, NY vs Fargo, ND
Moving from New York to Fargo? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $327,854 median home) and taxes.
New York vs Fargo 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 New York, NY, you'd need about $79,129 in Fargo, ND (−$20,871).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · Fargo, ND: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 2,592 sqft in Fargo ($455 vs $193 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | Fargo, ND | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $13,872 | −$28,164 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $4,850 | −$565 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,130 | −$765 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,332 | −$1,848 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $2,100 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $8,083 | −$15,413 |
| Total | $79,622 | $33,367 | −$46,255 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | Fargo, ND |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 3.11% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 8.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 38 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $327,854 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | 3.2% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $193 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $1,156 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 8.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 7.04% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 1.20% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 18 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 12.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 290 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | -2 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |