North Dakota•In office since 2016•Party: R

Doug Burgum

Serving as Governor of North Dakota since 2016. Evaluation based on verified public data.

Overall GradeA-

75.7 / 100

Ranked #10 of 50 nationally

Economy

72.7 / 100B+

Unemployment RateA+

2.0%

National avg 3.9%

Rank 2 of 5099 pct

Trend since took officefrom 2.6%

Median Household IncomeB+

$73,959

National avg $74,580

Rank 21 of 5059 pct

Trend since took officefrom $60,557

Job GrowthB-

3.5%

National avg 5.5%

Rank 35 of 5032 pct

Trend since took officefrom 1.5%

Real GDP GrowthB

6.0%

National avg 8.0%

Rank 28 of 5045 pct

Trend since took officefrom 2.0%

Real Wage GrowthB

2.8%

National avg 3.0%

Rank 29 of 5044 pct

Trend since took officefrom 1.0%

Fiscal Health

67.8 / 100B+

State Debt per CapitaB-

$2,200

National avg $3,580

Rank 22 of 5058 pct

Trend since took officefrom $2,400

Rainy Day FundC

12.0%

National avg 14.0%

Rank 41 of 5018 pct

Trend since took officefrom 10.0%

State & Local Tax BurdenA-

8.8%

National avg 11.2%

Rank 6 of 5090 pct

Trend since took officefrom 9.0%

Credit RatingA+

100

National avg 90

Rank 12 of 5079 pct

Trend since took officefrom 100

Quality of Life

58.3 / 100B-

Poverty RateB

10.5%

National avg 11.5%

Rank 15 of 5071 pct

Trend since took officefrom 10.7%

High School Graduation RateB+

89.8%

National avg 87.0%

Rank 12 of 5078 pct

Trend since took officefrom 88.0%

Life ExpectancyC

77.3 yrs

National avg 77.5 yrs

Rank 25 of 5052 pct

Trend since took officefrom 77.7 yrs

Violent Crime RateC

283 / 100k

National avg 380 / 100k

Rank 17 of 5068 pct

Trend since took officefrom 242 / 100k

Bridges in Poor ConditionB-

4.8%

National avg 6.6%

Rank 20 of 5062 pct

Trend since took officefrom 5.0%

How this grade is built

Each metric gets two scores: how the state ranks among all 50 states (60%) and how much it changed under this governor (40%). These combine into a 0–100 score per metric, averaged within three pillars — Economy, Fiscal Health, Quality of Life — then curved across the cohort so grades spread A–F.

Full methodology →