What is the property tax rate in North Dakota?
North Dakota’s property tax rate averages 0.92% of market value for owner-occupied homes (Tax Foundation 2026, using the 2024 American Community Survey). That places the state near the middle nationally, well below Illinois and above most Mountain West states.
Local bills are stated in mills, not percentages. A mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value, and taxable value in North Dakota is only a small slice of market value. Dividing total 2025 property taxes in the Tax Commissioner’s statistical report ($1,559,002,762 of ad valorem and special taxes) by total taxable valuation ($6,375,693,648) gives a statewide average of about 244.5 mills.
How North Dakota sets assessed and taxable value
Every parcel is valued at its true and full value each year as of February 1, under NDCC 57-02-11. Assessed value is then 50% of true and full value (NDCC 57-02-01), and taxable value is a percentage of assessed value that depends on the class of property (NDCC 57-02-27).
- The tax equals taxable value times the total mill rate, divided by 1,000.
- A quick shortcut for an apartment building: multiply market value by 5%, then by the mill rate over 1,000.
| Class | Assessed value | Taxable value | Taxable share of market value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary and nonprimary residential | 50% of true and full value | 9% of assessed value | 4.5% |
| Commercial (including buildings with 4 or more units) | 50% of true and full value | 10% of assessed value | 5% |
| Agricultural | Productivity formula | 10% of assessed value | Varies |
| Centrally assessed | Set by the state | 10% of assessed value | Varies |
Why North Dakota apartments are taxed as commercial property
North Dakota’s definition of residential property leaves out “structures providing living accommodations for four or more separate family units” (NDCC 57-02-01). Commercial property is everything not in another class, so a building with four or more apartments falls into the commercial class and is taxed on 10% of assessed value instead of 9%.
That one-point gap means an apartment building pays about 11% more tax than a house of the same value at the same mill rate. A duplex or triplex stays residential. House Bill 1176 (2025) kept this structure, reaffirming 9% for primary and nonprimary residential property and 10% for commercial property. Confirm your building’s class on your assessment notice, since the class drives the bill.
Does a sale trigger reassessment in North Dakota?
There is no sale trigger in North Dakota, because there is no frozen base value to reset. All real property is listed and assessed every year at true and full value, so the assessor is always trying to track the market.
In practice, sales are the evidence assessors use. A building that sells for well above its current true and full value is a strong data point, and the next February 1 assessment may move toward the price. A buyer should underwrite taxes on something close to the purchase price, not on the seller’s last bill.
The 3% levy cap from House Bill 1176
North Dakota has no cap on how fast a property’s value can rise, but since taxable year 2025 it caps how fast a taxing district’s levy can grow. House Bill 1176, signed in May 2025, limits the dollars each political subdivision levies to its base year levy plus 3%, without a vote of the people.
Unused increases can be carried forward for up to five years, and bonded debt and a few other items sit outside the limit. Voters can approve a levy above the cap for up to four taxable years at a time. Because the cap applies to dollars levied, not to each parcel, an apartment building whose value rises faster than its neighbors’ can still see a bigger increase than 3%.
The same law created a primary residence credit of up to $1,600 and raised the renters refund maximum from $400 to $600. The credit applies only to an owner’s primary residence, so it does not reduce taxes on an apartment building.
North Dakota property tax rates by county
Average levies in North Dakota range from about 120 mills in the oil counties of the west to more than 300 mills in parts of the Red River Valley. The figures below divide each county’s total 2025 ad valorem and special taxes (Table 3) by its total taxable valuation (Table 1) in the Tax Commissioner’s 2025 Property Tax Statistical Report. They are our calculation from state data, not rates the state publishes.
Each county average includes farmland and centrally assessed property such as pipelines, which pulls western averages down. The mill rate on a city parcel in Williston or Watford City can be well above its county average, so check the levy on your own tax statement.
| County | Average mills (2025) | Rate on market value for an apartment building | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Forks | 318.1 | 1.59% | Highest |
| Walsh | 306.5 | 1.53% | Highest |
| Ramsey | 303.2 | 1.52% | Highest |
| Ward | 294.9 | 1.47% | Highest |
| Cass | 294.1 | 1.47% | Highest |
| Slope | 177.0 | 0.89% | Lowest |
| Dunn | 134.0 | 0.67% | Lowest |
| McKenzie | 127.9 | 0.64% | Lowest |
| Mountrail | 121.0 | 0.61% | Lowest |
| Billings | 120.4 | 0.60% | Lowest |
Who sets the mill levy on a North Dakota building
Your total mill rate is the sum of every taxing district that covers the parcel: the county, the city or township, the school district, the park district and smaller districts such as rural fire, ambulance and soil conservation. Each sets its own levy from its budget, and the 3% cap applies to each one separately.
School districts are usually the largest piece. In Cass County, school districts levied $201.9 million of the $407.4 million in 2025 ad valorem and special taxes, about 50%. Cities took about 21%, the county about 17% and park districts about 10%. When you read a Fargo or West Fargo tax statement, the school line is the one that moves the bill most.
How to appeal your property value in North Dakota
Appeals follow a fixed calendar, and the first step comes in April, long before the December tax statement. Start with the city or township board of equalization, then go to the county board, and then to the State Board of Equalization.
If you miss the boards, you can apply to the county for an abatement. The application is due by November 1 of the year after the tax became due. Bring rent rolls, operating statements and recent sales of similar buildings; a commercial-class appeal turns on income as much as on comparable sales.
- February 1: assessment date.
- First 15 days of April: city or township board of equalization.
- First 10 days of June: county board of equalization.
- Second Tuesday in August: State Board of Equalization.
- By August 31: notice of estimated taxes to owners whose estimated tax is $100 or more.
- December 26: tax statements postmarked; a 5% discount applies if taxes are paid in full by February 15.
Property tax exemptions for North Dakota apartments
Statewide relief in North Dakota is aimed at homeowners. The primary residence credit, the 9% residential ratio and the disabled veterans credit all depend on the owner living in the property or on residential classification, and none of them applies to a five-unit or larger rental building.
Ask the city assessor whether any local incentive applies to your building and whether it survives a sale before you price the deal, since an incentive ending at closing raises the buyer’s bill.
Worked example: property tax on a $2M North Dakota apartment building
Take a 24-unit building with a true and full value of $2,000,000. Assessed value is $1,000,000 (50%), and as commercial property its taxable value is $100,000 (10% of assessed). At Cass County’s average of 294.1 mills, the yearly tax is about $29,410, or 1.47% of value. At the statewide average of 244.5 mills it is about $24,450; in Grand Forks County at 318.1 mills, about $31,810.
If the same building were classed as residential at 9%, taxable value would be $90,000 and the Cass County bill would be about $26,469. The commercial class costs roughly $2,941 a year more.
Now the sale. Suppose the building was valued at $1,600,000 before it sold for $2,000,000. Its taxable value was $80,000 and its bill about $23,528. If the assessor moves the value to the price, the buyer’s bill rises to $29,410, an increase of $5,882 a year. At an illustrative 6.5% cap rate, that change is worth about $90,500 of value, which is why buyers underwrite taxes on the price.
| Scenario | Taxable value | Yearly tax |
|---|---|---|
| Cass County, 294.1 mills | $100,000 | $29,410 |
| Statewide average, 244.5 mills | $100,000 | $24,450 |
| Grand Forks County, 318.1 mills | $100,000 | $31,810 |
| Billings County, 120.4 mills | $100,000 | $12,040 |
| Before sale, valued at $1.6M (Cass) | $80,000 | $23,528 |
How property tax affects your sale price
Buyers price apartment buildings on net operating income, so every dollar of expected tax comes off value at the cap rate. In North Dakota the gap between your current bill and the buyer’s expected bill is usually small if your assessment has kept up with the market, and larger if it has lagged.
Gather your last three tax statements and assessment notices before you list. If your value looks high against your income, an April appeal can lower the bill a buyer inherits and help your price.
Selling an apartment building in North Dakota
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in North Dakota, including Cass, Grand Forks, Burleigh and Ward counties. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. We underwrite from your actual tax statements.
For the income tax on the sale, see our page on North Dakota capital gains tax on real estate. For the lease and deposit rules a buyer takes over, see North Dakota landlord-tenant law for apartment owners.
