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Homeowners insurance in North Dakota costs $3,510 a year on average in 2026 for a $400,000 dwelling policy, according to NerdWallet, or about $293 a month. ValuePenguin puts the same state average at $2,460 a year for a $350,000 dwelling, and Insurify puts it at $2,217 a year for a $300,000 dwelling. The datasets disagree because they price different houses, and North Dakota is the rare northern plains state where the cheapest carriers price far below the average. This post lays out what each dataset measures, what North Dakota homeowners pay by city and carrier, and what the weather actually costs.
North Dakota sits in an odd spot on the regional map. ValuePenguin notes it is cheaper than every surrounding state: Minnesota averages $2,774 a year, Montana $2,754, and South Dakota $3,258 for the same $350,000 of dwelling coverage. The reason, in ValuePenguin’s reading, is lower severe weather risk than its neighbors. Minnesota, Montana, and South Dakota are all windier, and Montana and South Dakota carry greater wildfire risk. Lower risk does not mean no risk. North Dakota still gets tornadoes, hail, and three or four severe winter storms a season.
How much is homeowners insurance in North Dakota in 2026?
For a $400,000 dwelling with a $1,000 deductible, North Dakota homeowners pay about $3,510 a year, or $293 a month, according to NerdWallet. That is about 41 percent above the national average of $2,490 a year for the same coverage. Smaller houses cost less. For a $300,000 dwelling, the average runs $2,217 to $2,846 a year depending on the dataset.
| Source | Dwelling coverage | Average per year | Average per month | National average in the same study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NerdWallet (May 2026) | $400,000 | $3,510 | $293 | $2,490 |
| ValuePenguin (Sept 2026) | $350,000 | $2,460 | $205 | $2,395 |
| Insurance.com (Sept 2026) | $300,000 | $2,846 | $237 | Not published |
| MarketWatch, Quadrant data (Nov 2026) | $400,000 | $3,168 | $264 | Not published |
| Insurify (Nov 2026) | $300,000 | $2,217 | $185 | $2,772 |
Insurify disagrees with itself on North Dakota. Its North Dakota state page lists $2,217 a year for $300,000 in dwelling coverage, while its national state table lists $2,592 for the same coverage level. Both pages were updated November 1, 2026. The state page figure is the one built from North Dakota quotes, so this post uses $2,217 and notes the $2,592 figure as the conflicting table value rather than picking one silently.
One more figure puts the study averages in context. The U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey reports that North Dakota homeowners with a mortgage said they paid a median of $1,351 a year in the 2023 five year estimates. That figure counts every policy in force, including older homes with low dwelling limits. The study figures above price one sample home at current filed rates. Use the study figures to compare companies and the Census figure as a reminder that your own quote depends on your house.
What North Dakota homeowners pay by city
Where you live in North Dakota moves the premium by almost $1,000 a year. Fargo, the largest city, averages $2,110 a year, about 14 percent below the state average. West Fargo has the cheapest rates in the state at $2,090 a year. Menoken, a small community east of Bismarck, has the highest at $3,067 a year.
| City | Average per year | Cheapest company | Cheapest rate per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Fargo | $2,090 | Not published | Not published |
| Fargo | $2,110 | Not published | Not published |
| Bottineau | $2,469 | American Family | $1,875 |
| Bismarck | $2,922 | Auto-Owners | $2,314 |
| Bowman | $2,926 | North Star Mutual | $2,207 |
| Menoken | $3,067 | Not published | Not published |
The Fargo to Bismarck gap is $812 a year for the same $350,000 of coverage. Bismarck sits in the southwestern part of the state, where ValuePenguin notes rates run higher. The cheapest carrier changes by town: American Family is cheapest in Bottineau at $1,875 a year, Auto-Owners is cheapest in Bismarck at $2,314, and North Star Mutual is cheapest in Bowman at $2,207. A statewide cheapest list tells you where to start, not where to stop.
Who has the cheapest homeowners insurance in North Dakota?
North Star Mutual has the cheapest home insurance in North Dakota for most people, with an average rate of $2,130 a year for $350,000 in dwelling coverage, according to ValuePenguin. That is $330 a year below the state average of $2,460. North Star Mutual prices cheapest for lower value and average homes. For a home that would cost more to rebuild, American Family and Auto-Owners are cheaper options.
| Company | Average per year, $200,000 dwelling | Complaints, NAIC |
|---|---|---|
| North Star Mutual | $1,255 | Average |
| American Family | $1,510 | High |
| Auto-Owners | $1,538 | Low |
| Nodak | $1,586 | Low |
| Country Financial | $1,632 | Low |
| State Farm | $1,889 | Average |
| Farmers | $2,298 | Low |
Those rates are for a $200,000 dwelling, the level where ValuePenguin publishes a full company table. Other datasets name different cheapest carriers because they price different profiles. Insurify’s own North Dakota page is inconsistent: its headline names Farmers cheapest at $123 a month for a $300,000 dwelling, while its company table lists American Family at $1,502 a year with the cheapest rates label. MoneyGeek, pricing a $250,000 dwelling, names Agraria cheapest at $1,654 a year, with American Family at $1,897 and COUNTRY Financial at $1,953. Insurance.com, pricing $300,000 of dwelling, names North Star Mutual cheapest at $2,178 a year. The carrier that wins depends on the house, so the honest answer is a shortlist, not a single name.
Auto-Owners is the best rated home insurance company in North Dakota, with low complaints relative to its size. North Star Mutual, the cheapest for most people, carries average complaints. Nodak Insurance, a North Dakota only carrier, prices at $1,586 a year for a $200,000 dwelling with low complaints, and it is the kind of regional carrier that rarely appears in national cheapest lists.
What the weather costs: wind, tornadoes, hail, and snow
North Dakota recorded 277 windstorms and 72 tornadoes in 2025, according to the NOAA National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. Wind alone caused more than $13 million in damage to properties in the state that year, tornadoes caused another $5.9 million, and hail storms caused nearly $13 million, according to NOAA. A standard HO-3 policy covers wind and tornado damage, including a tree falling on the house, and it covers hail damage to the roof and siding.
The deductible is where the cost lands on the homeowner. Many North Dakota policies carry a separate wind and hail deductible, usually 1 or 2 percent of the dwelling limit, instead of the flat $1,000 deductible on the rest of the policy. On a $350,000 home, a 1 percent wind and hail deductible means $3,500 out of pocket before the insurer pays on a wind claim. If the roof or siding is old or in poor condition, the carrier may settle at actual cash value, the depreciated value, rather than full replacement cost.
Snow is the fourth risk, and it is the one other states in this series do not share. Standard home insurance covers damage from the weight of snow and ice on a roof, and it covers claims when melted snow damages the property through a roof leak, as long as the homeowner did not cause the water entry. North Dakota usually gets three or four severe winter storms each season, according to ND Response, the state emergency management site. A roof that is not maintained before winter is the most common reason a snow claim gets reduced.
Are North Dakota home insurance rates going up?
Home insurance prices in North Dakota rose 39.5 percent between 2021 and 2025, according to ValuePenguin and S and P Global RateWatch data drawn from National Association of Insurance Commissioners filings. That is below the national increase of 47.9 percent over the same period. The biggest jump came in 2024, when rates rose 18.47 percent. Rates rose only 4.79 percent in 2025, the smallest annual increase since 2022.
| Year | Average rate increase |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 1.37 percent |
| 2022 | 2.36 percent |
| 2023 | 7.86 percent |
| 2024 | 18.47 percent |
| 2025 | 4.79 percent |
The increases did not hit every carrier the same way. Auto-Owners raised rates the most, with a policy costing nearly 70 percent more in 2025 than in 2021. Chubb reported no rate changes in the last five years, and USAA raised rates only about 10 percent in that time. A carrier that held its rates flat can still be expensive if it started high, so the trend matters less than the current quote for your house.
A worked example: Fargo against Bismarck
Take a $350,000 dwelling with a $1,000 deductible. In Fargo the average is $2,110 a year. In Bismarck the average is $2,922 a year. The same house costs $812 a year more to insure in the capital than in the state’s largest city, and the cheapest carrier differs too: Auto-Owners is cheapest in Bismarck at $2,314, while North Star Mutual is cheapest statewide at $2,130. A Bismarck homeowner who takes the city average instead of the cheapest carrier quote pays $608 a year more for the same coverage. The lesson is the same in every state in this series: the state average is a benchmark, and the cheapest quote for your town is the number that matters.
How to lower your North Dakota homeowners insurance premium
Get quotes from at least three companies, and include one regional carrier. North Star Mutual and Nodak Insurance both price below the big national carriers in North Dakota, and neither shows up in most national cheapest lists because they only write in a handful of states. American Family offers matching siding protection, which matters in a state where hail damage is common and mismatched siding hurts curb appeal.
Keep the roof in good shape and have it checked every year. Your roof is the first line of defense against wind and hail, and a carrier that finds a worn roof will either raise the price or settle a claim at actual cash value. Your credit score shapes the price too: our guide to how a credit score affects homeowners insurance premiums explains how much a lower score can add. Roof age matters as well: our guide to how roof age affects homeowners insurance rates covers when a carrier switches a roof to actual cash value settlement. For comparison with neighboring states, see our Iowa homeowners insurance guide, our Wisconsin homeowners insurance guide, and our Kansas homeowners insurance guide.
What to remember about North Dakota homeowners insurance
North Dakota homeowners pay $3,510 a year on average for a $400,000 dwelling, or $2,460 for a $350,000 dwelling, depending on which house the dataset prices. Rates rose 39.5 percent in five years, less than the national increase, and the 2025 rise was only 4.79 percent. North Star Mutual is cheapest for most people at $2,130 a year, Fargo is $812 a year cheaper than Bismarck, and wind, hail, tornadoes, and snow are all covered by a standard policy, usually with a separate wind and hail deductible.
Frequently asked questions
How much is homeowners insurance in North Dakota?
Homeowners insurance in North Dakota costs $2,460 a year on average for a $350,000 dwelling, according to ValuePenguin, or $3,510 a year for a $400,000 dwelling, according to NerdWallet. The two figures price different houses, so the gap is a method difference rather than a disagreement about the market.
How much is home insurance in Fargo, ND?
Home insurance in Fargo costs an average of $2,110 a year for a $350,000 dwelling, according to ValuePenguin. That is about 14 percent below the state average, and West Fargo is slightly cheaper still at $2,090 a year.
How much is home insurance in Bismarck, ND?
Home insurance in Bismarck costs an average of $2,922 a year for a $350,000 dwelling, according to ValuePenguin. Auto-Owners is the cheapest carrier in the city at $2,314 a year.
Who has the cheapest homeowners insurance in North Dakota?
North Star Mutual has the cheapest home insurance in North Dakota for most people, with an average rate of $2,130 a year for $350,000 in dwelling coverage, according to ValuePenguin. American Family and Auto-Owners are cheaper for higher value homes, and Insurify names Farmers cheapest for its $300,000 dwelling profile.
Does homeowners insurance in North Dakota cover tornado damage?
Yes. A standard HO-3 policy covers wind damage from tornadoes, including roof and structural damage and a tree falling on the home. A separate wind and hail deductible, usually 1 or 2 percent of the dwelling limit, often applies to the claim. North Dakota recorded 72 tornadoes in 2025.
Does homeowners insurance in North Dakota cover snow damage?
Yes, a standard policy covers damage from the weight of snow and ice on a roof, and it covers claims when melted snow damages the property through a roof leak, as long as the homeowner did not cause the water entry. North Dakota usually gets three or four severe winter storms each season.
NerdWallet publishes its North Dakota figures in its average homeowners insurance cost guide, updated May 6, 2026. ValuePenguin publishes its North Dakota figures in its best cheap home insurance in North Dakota guide, updated September 25, 2026, built from Quadrant Information Services rate data across 386 North Dakota ZIP codes. Storm counts and damage figures come from the NOAA National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. For comparison with another cold weather state, see our Michigan homeowners insurance guide.
