Overview
Cass County is the most populous county in North Dakota, home to 189,286 residents (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023). It includes Fargo, the state's largest city, and sits on the western bank of the Red River along the Minnesota border. The county's population ranks higher than 89% of U.S. counties and higher than 98% of North Dakota counties.
The numbers that set Cass County apart from most of North Dakota: a median age of 32.9 years (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023), which is younger than 96% of U.S. counties. A bachelor's degree attainment rate of 43.3% (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023), higher than 94% of counties nationally. And an unemployment rate of 2.6% (BLS LAUS, 2025), lower than 91% of the country. This is a county built around a university town and a regional economy that keeps pulling in young workers.
Demographics
That 32.9-year median age (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023) reflects a population shaped by North Dakota State University and the employers that cluster around it. Only 4% of U.S. counties have a younger median age. In a state where many rural counties are aging rapidly, Cass runs in the opposite direction.
Education levels follow the same pattern. At 43.3%, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023) exceeds 94% of U.S. counties and 98% of North Dakota counties. The county draws and retains college-educated workers at a rate that's unusual for the Northern Plains.
The population is 82.3% white, 6.5% Black, 3.5% Hispanic, 3.1% Asian, and 0.8% Native American (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023). The Black population share ranks higher than 69% of U.S. counties and higher than 98% of North Dakota counties, reflecting Fargo's role as a refugee resettlement hub over the past two decades. The Asian population share, at 3.1%, also ranks higher than 90% of U.S. counties.
Education
Per-pupil spending in Cass County reached $18,704 (Education Data Portal, 2020), well above the national average of roughly $15,000. Total enrollment stood at 25,729 students (Education Data Portal, 2021), ranking higher than 88% of U.S. counties.
The student-teacher ratio of 12.6:1 (Education Data Portal, 2021) is lower than the national average of about 15.5:1, meaning smaller class sizes relative to most districts. The graduation rate of 86.7% (Education Data Portal, 2019) sits close to the national average of roughly 87%, placing the county near the middle of the pack nationally and at the 67th ranking among North Dakota counties.
Spending is relatively strong. Class sizes are manageable. Graduation rates are average. The combination suggests a school system that's adequately resourced but not producing outsized outcomes on completion.
Economy & Employment
Median household income in Cass County is $75,023 (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023), higher than 78% of U.S. counties. Per capita income reaches $44,593 (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023), higher than 89% nationally. Within North Dakota, household income ranks at the 55th level among counties, while per capita income ranks at the 77th, a gap that partly reflects the county's younger, single-person households pulling down the household figure relative to individual earnings.
The labor force totals 118,184 people, with 115,160 employed and 3,024 unemployed (BLS LAUS, 2025). That 2.6% unemployment rate is lower than 91% of U.S. counties. The labor market is tight by any standard.
The poverty rate is 10.0% (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023), lower than 73% of U.S. counties. For a county with a large university population (students often count as low-income in Census surveys), a 10% poverty rate is partly a statistical artifact of how colleges affect local income data.
IRS data tells a higher-income story. Average adjusted gross income was $111,359, and average total income was $112,253 across 93,410 tax returns (IRS Statistics of Income, 2021). Both figures rank higher than 95% of U.S. counties nationally and 96% within North Dakota. The tax data captures earning power more directly than Census household income, which gets diluted by student households.
Housing & Cost of Living
The median home value in Cass County is $284,700 (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023), higher than 83% of U.S. counties and 92% of North Dakota counties. For context, median household income is $75,023, putting the home-value-to-income ratio at roughly 3.8:1. That's manageable but not cheap for the region.
Median gross rent is $930 per month (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023), higher than 64% of U.S. counties and 79% of North Dakota counties. Fair market rent data from HUD (2026) is available for the county but specific bedroom-level figures were not provided in the dataset.
The county has 87,497 total housing units with 5,829 vacant, producing a vacancy rate of 6.7% (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023). That rate is lower than 89% of U.S. counties, meaning the housing market is tighter than most of the country. Within North Dakota, Cass has the lowest vacancy rate of any county.
A tight rental market, rising home values, and a young population that skews toward renting creates pressure. The low vacancy rate signals that housing supply hasn't kept pace with the county's growth.
Health & Wellness
Cass County reports strong insurance coverage: only 6.2% of residents lack health insurance (CDC PLACES, 2023), a rate lower than 98% of U.S. counties. Coverage is essentially universal by rural American standards.
The picture gets more complicated beyond coverage. The obesity rate is 35.1% (CDC PLACES, 2023), lower than 76% of U.S. counties but still more than one in three residents. Diabetes prevalence is 8.5% (CDC PLACES, 2023), lower than 93% of counties nationally. High blood pressure affects 29.3% of the population (CDC PLACES, 2023), lower than 84% of U.S. counties.
Mental health stands out. The depression rate is 23.4% (CDC PLACES, 2023), affecting nearly one in four residents. The poor mental health rate of 13.5% (CDC PLACES, 2023) is higher than nearly every county in the country and the highest in North Dakota. Poor physical health days affect 10.0% of residents (CDC PLACES, 2023), also the highest rate in the state.
Annual checkup rates sit at 75.2% (CDC PLACES, 2023), and cholesterol screening rates reach 83.7% (CDC PLACES, 2023). People are accessing preventive care. The mental health numbers suggest the problem isn't access but prevalence, possibly connected to the harsh winters, the young population's higher rates of reported mental health concerns, or both.
Climate & Natural Disasters
Cass County has earned 35 federal disaster declarations since 1965, more than 93% of U.S. counties (FEMA OpenFEMA, 2026). That's not bad luck. It's geography.
Floods dominate the record. Of those 35 declarations, the majority are flood events, stretching back to 1965 and recurring with near-clockwork regularity. The county has drawn flood declarations in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2019, and 2020. Spring snowmelt feeding the Red River is the consistent culprit. The most recent disaster declaration came from a severe storm in September 2025 (FEMA DR-4888).
The climate itself is demanding. Average temperatures run 43.3°F annually, with highs averaging 53.9°F and lows averaging 32.7°F (NOAA Climate Data Online, 2025). Those figures rank lower than 90% of U.S. counties, meaning Cass County is colder than the vast majority of the country. Annual snowfall is 34.5 inches, above 79% of U.S. counties for snow accumulation (NOAA Climate Data Online, 2025). Annual precipitation totals 22.1 inches (NOAA Climate Data Online, 2025), relatively modest, but winter and spring accumulation drives the flood risk more than raw totals.
For residents and property owners, the relevant question isn't whether flooding will happen again. It will. The question is timing and severity. Anyone buying in the county should review FEMA flood maps at the parcel level and confirm insurance coverage before closing.
Financial Profile
Total adjusted gross income reported on Cass County tax returns reached $10.4 billion, with total income of $10.5 billion across 93,410 returns (IRS Statistics of Income, 2021). Average AGI of $111,359 ranks higher than 95% of U.S. counties. This is a county with significant aggregate wealth concentrated in a metro area.
Banking access is extensive. The county has 169 FDIC-insured bank branches holding $23.5 billion in total deposits (FDIC Summary of Deposits, 2023). Both figures rank higher than 97% of U.S. counties and 97% within North Dakota. Fargo is a regional banking center, home to several large financial institutions whose branch and deposit footprints inflate these numbers beyond what the local population alone would generate.
Social Security beneficiaries total 29,725 (SSA OASDI, 2024), about 15.7% of the population. That's a low share, consistent with the county's young median age. As the current workforce ages, the beneficiary count will grow, but for now, Cass County's dependency ratio leans heavily toward working-age residents.
Key Comparisons
Cass County's profile diverges from both North Dakota's rural counties and the national median in several measurable ways.
Income tells the clearest story. Median household income of $75,023 (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023) sits at the 55th level within North Dakota but the 78th nationally. Per capita income of $44,593 ranks at the 77th within the state and 89th nationally. Average AGI of $111,359 (IRS Statistics of Income, 2021) ranks higher than 95% of U.S. counties. The county is solidly above average on earnings by nearly any measure.
Education sets it further apart. At 43.3% bachelor's attainment (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023), Cass outpaces 94% of the country and nearly every county in North Dakota.
Housing is tighter and more expensive than most of the state. A 6.7% vacancy rate (Census ACS 5-Year, 2023) is the lowest in North Dakota. Median home values of $284,700 exceed 92% of the state's counties.
Health metrics are mixed. Insurance coverage and chronic disease rates are better than most U.S. counties. Mental health rates, at 23.4% depression and 13.5% poor mental health days (CDC PLACES, 2023), are worse than almost everywhere.
The labor market, at 2.6% unemployment (BLS LAUS, 2025), is among the tightest in the country. The 35 FEMA disaster declarations (FEMA OpenFEMA, 2026) rank among the highest nationally, driven by the county's position on a flood-prone river in a severe weather corridor.
Data Sources
- Census ACS 5-Year, 2023 (population, income, housing, demographics, education attainment, commute, poverty)
- BLS LAUS, 2025 (unemployment, employment, labor force)
- CDC PLACES, 2023 (health metrics, insurance coverage)
- HUD Fair Market Rents, 2026 (fair market rents)
- FEMA OpenFEMA, 2026 (disaster declarations and history)
- IRS Statistics of Income, 2021 (tax returns, AGI, total income)
- FDIC Summary of Deposits, 2023 (bank branches, total deposits)
- NOAA Climate Data Online, 2025 (temperature, precipitation, snowfall)
- SSA OASDI, 2024 (Social Security beneficiaries)
- Education Data Portal, 2019-2021 (per-pupil spending, enrollment, student-teacher ratio, graduation rate)