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CityLedger

Fargo vs Lincoln

Metro-area medians — Fargo, ND-MN Metro Area vs Lincoln, NE Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Fargo comes out ahead, winning 6 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.

Fargo and Lincoln are closely matched on both cost of living and household income. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Fargo.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Fargo, ND
$61,103
take-home / yr · 19% to tax
$67,242
real value after local prices
Lincoln, NE
$58,339
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$63,702
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Fargo leaves you about $3,540/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Fargo
Lincoln
Livability (CityLedger)
72/100
63/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
90.9
91.6
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$84,675
$81,824
Median household income
$76,945
$74,935
Median rent
$997/mo
$1,114/mo
Median home value
$300,200
$287,200
Unemployment
1.9%
3.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher
40.6%
43.9%
Average commute
16.9 min
20 min
Air quality (median AQI)
38
41
Avg temperature
42°F
52°F

Choose Fargo for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median rent
  • + Unemployment
  • + Average commute
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Fargo profile →

Choose Lincoln for

  • + Median home value
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
Full Lincoln profile →

Fargo vs Lincoln — frequently asked

Is Fargo cheaper than Lincoln?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Fargo and Lincoln metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Fargo or Lincoln?
Fargo has the higher median household income — $76,945 versus $74,935 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 3% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Fargo or Lincoln?
A paycheck stretches further in Fargo. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $84,675 there versus $81,824 in Lincoln.
Which has cheaper rent, Fargo or Lincoln?
Fargo has cheaper rent — a median of $997/mo versus $1,114/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).