A new list has come out ranking the most exciting places in North Dakota, and we guarantee you this city would never be your first guess.

Movato analyzed every town with a population greater than 2,000 in ND and used a number of different criteria to determine who could be crowned 'most exciting'. The website used per capita in all of their methodology, meaning that each measure was considered based on the number of people in the city (which significantly alters results).

Among the 25 cities considered, this is how the final list shook out, with the city of Grafton emerging on top:

  1. Grafton
  2. Casselton
  3. Beulah
  4. Lisbon
  5. Hazen
  6. Lincoln
  7. Rugby
  8. Williston
  9. Minot AFB (Tie)
  10. Minot (Tie)

The study noted Grafton restaurants like Shenanigan's, West Side Drive-In, and Lee's Restaurant that add to the city's excitement. When it comes to good food and art per capita, it has every other North Dakota city beat.

You may be asking yourself - where is Grand Forks? Fargo? Bismarck? Well, those cities came in at 13th, 14th, and 18th, respectively, because the smaller towns on the list "give you more bang for your buck when it comes to excitement."

Here's the full rundown of criteria used:

  • Nightlife per capita (bars, clubs, comedy, etc.)
  • Live music venues per capita
  • Active life options per capita (parks, outdoor activities, etc.)
  • Arts and Entertainment per capita (movie theaters, festivals, galleries, theaters, etc.)
  • Fast Food restaurants per capita (the fewer the better)
  • Percentage of restaurants that are not fast food (the higher the better)
  • Percentage of young residents ages 18 to 34 (the higher the better)
  • Population density (the higher the better)

We're not saying those North Dakota cities aren't great places to live, but to rank them ahead of the biggest cities in the entire state in terms of excitement is a bit puzzling.

Then again, maybe we're wrong.

[SOURCE: Movato]

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