Fargo vs Minot leftover
You'd keep $57 more a month in Minot
$3,247/mo leftover in Minot vs $3,190 in Fargo after tax and rent ($57 more). +$684 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Fargo leftover
$3,190
a month after tax and rent
Minot leftover
$3,247
+$57 vs Fargo
Compare Fargo to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Fargo.
Monthly gap
Fargo → Minot
$57
more / month in Minot
$3,247 in Minot · $3,190 in Fargo · 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, 58 households moved Fargo → Minot (avg AGI $75,517). 108 went the other way. The whole move →
+$57 / mo
| Per month | Fargo | Minot | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,375 | $7,694 | +$319 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,529 | $1,630 | +$101 |
| Take-home pay | $5,846 | $6,064 | +$218 |
| Rent | $885 | $1,010 | +$125 |
| Getting around | $505 | $544 | +$39 |
| Groceries | $349 | $348 | −$1 |
| Healthcare | $393 | $392 | −$1 |
| Utilities | $218 | $218 | $0 |
| Everything else | $306 | $305 | −$1 |
| Left over | $3,190 | $3,247 | +$57 |
To break even in Minot, you'd need to earn
$91,500
Household gross, versus $88,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Fargo does now.
The tax difference alone
−$75
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 20.7% in Fargo, 21.2% in Minot.
More about Minot
Fargo, ND in full
State income tax topping out at 2.5%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,054 and 193 sunny days; commutes average 18 minutes.
Minot, ND in full
State income tax topping out at 2.5%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,202 and 202 sunny days; commutes average 20 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Minot on Minot wages.
Minot → Fargo →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Minot than Fargo?
A one-bedroom is about $885 in Fargo versus $1,010 in Minot. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $57 a month higher in Minot. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Minot have state income tax?
Minot is in North Dakota, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Fargo to Minot?
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 Fargo and Minot 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.