Nelson County, North Dakota: commercial real estate data.

Nelson County

How many people live in Nelson County

• Population, American Community Survey 2020-20243,016
• Households1,338
• Average household size2.25
• Median household income$67,193
• Median age50.1
• Median gross rent$582 per month
• Median owner-occupied home value$139,700
• Home value to household income2.1 times
• Annual rent as a share of median income10.4 percent
• Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher29.4 percent
• Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree6.7 percent
• Adults 25 and over2,253
• Population under 18625
• Share under 1820.7 percent
• Population 65 and over853
• Share 65 and over28.3 percent
• Working age population, 18 to 641,538
• Civilian labor force1,443
• Unemployment rate1.1 percent
• Labor force participation, adults 18 and over60.4 percent
• Rank by population among North Dakota counties34th of 53
• Rank by population among US county-equivalents, Puerto Rico included3031st of 3,222

Nelson County is the 34th largest of 53 North Dakota counties by population. A median home costs 2.1 times median household income, which is affordable by national standards. Residents 65 and over outnumber those under 18, at 28.3 percent against 20.7 percent, which points demand at health care, services and single story product rather than schools.

US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.

Nelson County

Where are people moving to Nelson County from?

• Tax returns filed by households arriving36
• People arriving, from those returns62
• Tax returns filed by households leaving55
• Net household movement-19
• Adjusted gross income arriving$1.8 m
• Net adjusted gross income movement$-1.9 m
• Average income of an arriving household$51,083
• Average income of a leaving household$68,691

Households arriving report $17,608 less average income than households leaving, which drains spending power even where headcount holds up.

US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.

Nelson County

Employment by industry in Nelson County

• Covered employment, annual average1,040
• Establishments reporting180
• Average annual pay$46,926
• Average weekly wage$902
• Wholesale trade, employment134
• Wholesale trade, average annual pay$73,161
• Finance and insurance, employment66
• Finance and insurance, average annual pay$60,982
• Construction, employment64
• Construction, average annual pay$59,489
• Retail trade, employment62
• Retail trade, average annual pay$25,455
• Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, employment42
• Manufacturing, employment11

Wholesale trade is the largest private sector at 134 jobs, 12.9 percent of covered employment.

US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.

Nelson County

Building permits in Nelson County

• Housing units authorized by permit, 20243
• Declared construction value permitted$910,000
• Single family units authorized3
• Multifamily units authorized0
• Multifamily share of units0.0 percent
• Average declared value per unit$303,333
• Units authorized per 1,000 households2.2

Single-family homes are 100.0 percent of units authorized, so the pipeline is predominantly single-family.

US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.

Nelson County

SBA loan default and charge-off rates in Nelson County

Do SBA loans in Nelson County get paid back?

• Loans with a final outcome recorded1
• Paid in full0
• Charged off1
• Status: Charged off1

Only 1 loan has reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.

Compare against the national and state SBA charge-off rates, computed the same way over resolved loans only.

US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.

Nelson County

Flood risk in Nelson County

• Participation of the county's own NFIP community Nelson County, unincorporated areasParticipating, community 380683
• Communities in the county in the NFIP Community Status Book5
• Of those, participating in the NFIP5
• NFIP participation rate100.0 percent
• Communities carrying a CRS class0
• Radon levels in Nelson County, EPA zone predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/LZone 1

The county's own community in the status book, unincorporated Nelson County (community 380683), participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and carries no Community Rating System class, so no CRS premium discount applies there. The EPA places Nelson County in radon zone 1, a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L. The zone is a screening prediction for the county and does not substitute for a test at an address. 100.0 percent of the county's listed communities participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, per Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26. US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.

Feasibility studies

When a Nelson County site needs a document a lender will accept.

The same data layer behind this page is the one the studies are written from. A study for a Nelson County site starts with the figures you are reading, carrying the same source and period into the credit file.

• Population, American Community Survey 2020-20243,016
• Households1,338
• Average household size2.25
• Median household income$67,193
• Median age50.1

How a feasibility study works →

Nelson County

Cities and places in Nelson.

8 Census places lie wholly or partly in Nelson County. All 8 carry enough published place level data for a page of their own and are linked.