North Dakota:
Population: 642,200.
Population Density: 9 per square mile (Rank 17 of JWR’s top 19 states).
Area: 70,700 square miles (rank 17 of 50).
Average car insurance cost: $601/yr. (rank 49 of 50).
Average home insurance cost: $426/yr. (rank 33 of 50).
Crime Safety Ranking: 2 of 50.
Boston T. Party’s State Firearms Laws Ranking: 61%.
Per capita income: $24,708 (rank 38 of 50).
ACT & SAT Scores Ranking: 6 of 50.
Plusses: very low population density. Extremely low crime rate. Extremely low car insurance rates. With the decline in family farming, the state has actually de-populated, leaving real estate prices low. In eastern North Dakota, in-town lots can be had literally for free–to encourage re-settlement. For various economic and demographic data, see: http://www.DiscoverND.com [1]
Minuses: Brutally cold winters. Short growing season.With the de-population, crop diversity has decreased. (Practically a monoculture.) Many small towns in North Dakota now lack key commerce such as grocery stores, hardware stores, and so forth. (People in many small towns are now forced to drive long distances to do their weekly shopping.) Some small towns in the de-populated regions are verging on desperation, hence the aforementioned “free lots”offers. (Some schools are being closed for want of pupils.) North Dakota has major nuclear targets, so I only recommend that you look west (upwind) of the missile fields. It is estimated that in a full scale nuclear exchange Russia might direct up to 1/3 of its ICBMs at the Dakotas! Unfortunately the missile fields are all WEST (mostly upwind) of Grand Forks (which is on the eastern border). Also, much of North Dakota is downwind from the missile fields in Montana and Wyoming, at least with the prevailing winds. That makes it less than inviting in a nuclear war scenario. North Dakota also has highly regulated home schooling.
JWR’s Combined Retreat Potential Ranking: 8 of 19.