Bismarck vs Grand Forks leftover
Moving to Grand Forks costs you $495 a month
$2,840/mo leftover in Grand Forks vs $3,335 in Bismarck after tax and rent ($495 less). −$5,940 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Bismarck leftover
$3,335
a month after tax and rent
Grand Forks leftover
$2,840
−$495 vs Bismarck
Compare Bismarck to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Bismarck.
Monthly gap
Bismarck → Grand Forks
$495
less / month in Bismarck
$2,840 in Grand Forks · $3,335 in Bismarck · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 46 households moved Bismarck → Grand Forks (avg AGI $39,391). 48 went the other way. The whole move →
−$495 / mo
| Per month | Bismarck | Grand Forks | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,917 | $6,951 | −$966 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,700 | $1,395 | −$305 |
| Take-home pay | $6,216 | $5,555 | −$661 |
| Rent | $1,084 | $924 | −$160 |
| Getting around | $534 | $525 | −$9 |
| Groceries | $348 | $349 | +$1 |
| Healthcare | $392 | $393 | +$1 |
| Utilities | $218 | $218 | $0 |
| Everything else | $305 | $306 | +$1 |
| Left over | $3,335 | $2,840 | −$495 |
To break even in Grand Forks, you'd need to earn
$92,000
Household gross, versus $95,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Bismarck does now.
The tax difference alone
+$226
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 21.5% in Bismarck, 20.1% in Grand Forks.
More about Grand Forks
Bismarck, ND in full
State income tax topping out at 2.5%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,290 and 196 sunny days; commutes average 18 minutes.
Grand Forks, ND in full
State income tax topping out at 2.5%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,100 and 186 sunny days; commutes average 17 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Grand Forks on Grand Forks wages.
Grand Forks → Bismarck →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Grand Forks than Bismarck?
A one-bedroom is about $1,084 in Bismarck versus $924 in Grand Forks. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $495 a month lower in Grand Forks. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Grand Forks have state income tax?
Grand Forks is in North Dakota, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Bismarck to Grand Forks?
Take-home pay is recalculated under North Dakota tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Bismarck and Grand Forks moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.