North Dakota's capital city is ranked 5th in the country on a list of best state capitals to live in.
Jill Gonzales is an analyst for Wallet Hub, a personal finance website that conducted a survey of the cities. She says Bismarck has a lot of qualities that make it an attractive place to live. Gonzales says it's cost of living, household income, rent and home ownership rates all show it being among one of the most affordable places to live. She says this attracts a larger population of people that includes millenials, who are looking for a place to establish a career and settle down. Gonzales also says Bismarck's unemployment rate is below 2 percent, making it the lowest in the country. But she says there are some areas Bismarck can improve when it comes to quality of life.
"Specifically, when we're looking at things like public transportation, walk score - it's kind of more of a spread out capital city so I think it's harder to get around. Especially if you are new to the city, don't have a car or don't want to have a car, then it would be a lot tougher to get around than in other capital cities. And just for night life options, restaurants, bars, coffee and tea shops - all of those kind of things to do are pretty few and far between in Bismarck. So, it's just kind of getting that part up - we know it's already a great place to work, but getting it to be a great place to live should be Bismarck's main concern."
Bismarck's "affordability" and "economic well-being" ranks were 3 and 1, respectively. Gonzales says those ranks contrast with being ranked 21st for "quality of education and health" and 36th for overall "quality of life."
