North Dakota dark-sky map — light pollution by town
North Dakota has 9 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — West Fargo (Bortle 7) — to its brightest city cores, with 0 rating as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Every town is listed with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. No site in the state holds an International Dark Sky Place certification, so its darkest skies are the rural towns at the top of the table. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.
- Towns rated
- 9
- Darkest town
- West Fargo
- Genuinely dark towns
- 0
- Certified dark-sky places
- 0
0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).
Nearest certified dark-sky places to North Dakota
No site in North Dakota holds an International Dark Sky Place certification. Measured from West Fargo, the state's darkest rated town, these are the nearest certified destinations — all 92 are on the map.
| Place | Designation | State | From West Fargo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voyageurs National Park | Dark Sky Park | Minnesota | 220 mi |
| Newport State Park | Dark Sky Park | Wisconsin | 490 mi |
| Homer Glen | Dark Sky Community | Illinois | 575 mi |
All North Dakota towns by darkness
Darkest sky first, each with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. Sort or filter below.
| Sky | Nearest darker sky | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Fargo | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 32 | Sartell, MN — B6, 155 mi |
| Dickinson | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 38 | Casper, WY — B6, 325 mi |
| Mandan | 8 | City sky | 41 | Dickinson — B7, 90 mi |
| Jamestown | 8 | City sky | 47 | West Fargo — B7, 85 mi |
| Williston | 8 | City sky | 52 | Dickinson — B7, 96 mi |
| Grand Forks | 8 | City sky | 61 | West Fargo — B7, 73 mi |
| Minot | 8 | City sky | 72 | Dickinson — B7, 115 mi |
| Fargo | 8 | City sky | 96 | West Fargo — B7, 5 mi |
| Bismarck | 9 | Inner-city sky | 105 | Mandan — B8, 5 mi |
Frequently asked questions
- Where are the darkest skies in North Dakota?
- The darkest town tracked here is West Fargo. Sort the table on this page by darkness to see the full ranking, from the most rural, star-filled skies down to the brightest city cores.
- How many dark-sky towns does North Dakota have?
- Of 9 towns rated here, 0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
- How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
- From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.
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