Cost Of Living in Minot | Video

Jenny Castro | 9/14/2012

While the job market is thriving in western North Dakota, the cost of living is comparably high in some areas. According to a quarterly study by the American Chamber of Commerce Researcher`s Association, the cost of living in Minot is four percent higher than the national average.

There`s a lot of good jobs here in Minot, and when prices go up many people get by just paying more. But for low to middle income households the additional expenses aren`t covered as easily.

"But see a family can`t do that they just have to cut out, we can`t have that anymore or we can`t afford that anymore. So it`s just stuff that you go through everyday, you try to budget around it,” said Minot resident Lynette Schlect.

Based on the second quarter of this year, housing in Minot is 15 percent higher than the national average. While utilities are significantly lower than the average the cost of miscellaneous goods and health care are above Fargo and Minneapolis.

"Just for me and my little boy, I`m paying $500 a month and there`s hardly coverage on it,” said Schlect.

For people who come here looking for jobs, they found that part with no trouble, but they didn`t expect that so much of their paycheck was going to go towards necessities.

"I came with some savings hoping I wouldn`t have to do that but it`s a bit more expensive than I thought it would be. I have a brother that lives here and he kind of told me it was going to be more expensive, I didn`t realize just how much,” said new resident Daniel Paulsen.

Paulsen just moved here from Iowa and has been living in his van until he can afford an apartment. He said that for now, having a job is more important.

"Well, here seems to be about the only place in the country between Idaho, Utah, Portland and North Dakota where there`s actually any job."

As the city adjusts to the growing community, the costs could remain high for a while and that has a bigger affect on some more than others.

The cost of housing in Minot for the last quarter is about thirty percent above Fargo, three percent above Minneapolis and about the same as Denver, Colorado.

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