North Dakota Business Data & Credit Risk Insights

Explore North Dakota business statistics, credit risk scores, payment trends and leading industries using the latest Creditsafe data. Search for a free business credit report to assess an individual company.

North Dakota Business Statistics, Credit Risk & Payment Trends | Creditsafe

North Dakota Business Overview

Creditsafe has records for 308,237 businesses in North Dakota, including 215,088 classified as active. An active classification means a qualifying company-information, payment or legal-filing update was recorded within the previous two years; it does not necessarily prove current trading. This page examines company counts, credit risk, payment behavior, company ages and leading industries using the latest Creditsafe data. Creditsafe credit scores run from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating lower predicted credit risk. The figures describe Creditsafe database records, not an official state business census.

5 key takeaways for North Dakota businesses

1. North Dakota has a substantial recorded business market

The latest Creditsafe data shows: Creditsafe holds 308,237 North Dakota business records, including 215,088 classified as active. The database records 10,002 businesses added in the latest 12 months.

What this means for your business: Use this market overview to guide prospect research, but validate each company before treating it as an active trading opportunity.

2. North Dakota credit scores compared with the US

The latest Creditsafe data shows: North Dakota has an average Creditsafe credit score of 53.22, compared with 51.76 nationally. This suggests lower average predicted credit risk in North Dakota.

What this means for your business: Do not use statewide averages alone to set credit limits. Review each company’s credit report and individual risk indicators.

3. Payment performance provides a separate signal

The latest Creditsafe data shows: North Dakota businesses average 1.12 days beyond terms, compared with 1.94 nationally. The share paying on time is 31.72%.

What this means for your business: Consider payment history alongside credit scores when setting terms, managing collections and forecasting cash flow.

4. Industry differences can affect cash flow

The latest Creditsafe data shows: Among the ten largest listed industries, Eating Places records the longest average payment delay (2.38 days beyond terms), compared with 1.12 days statewide.

What this means for your business: Check sector-level and company-level payment patterns rather than applying one collections policy across every industry.

5. State averages can hide customer-level risks

The latest Creditsafe data shows: The database contains 64,554 records in the supplied high-risk category and 21,865 with an unavailable or inapplicable risk category. These aggregate categories are not the same as individual-company score bands.

What this means for your business: Use state statistics as context, then assess the specific company’s creditworthiness and payment behavior before extending credit.

Know who you are doing business with

Go beyond North Dakota averages. Check a company’s creditworthiness, payment behavior and potential risks before making your next business decision.

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North Dakota at a glance

MeasureNorth Dakota value
Businesses in Creditsafe database308,237
Active businesses215,088
Businesses added, latest 12 months10,002
Average credit score53.22
Average days beyond terms1.12
Paying on time31.72%
Median company age18 years

North Dakota business records by status

69.8%active
215,088 active records
93,149 other records

Active reflects Creditsafe’s data-update classification, not a guarantee a company is currently trading.

How many businesses are there in North Dakota?

Creditsafe holds records on 308,237 North Dakota businesses. Of these, 215,088 are active (69.8% of state records), while 93,149 are inactive. The database records 10,002 businesses added in the latest 12 months. These are database counts, not an official government census.

What is an active business?

Creditsafe classifies a business as active when at least one qualifying database element has been updated within the last two years. This may include company identity, contact, location, industry, sales or employee information, as well as payment data or legal filings such as suits, liens, judgments and UCCs. This classification indicates a recent data update and does not guarantee the business is currently trading.

Credit scores compared

North Dakota53.22 / 100
United States51.76 / 100

Higher scores indicate lower predicted credit risk. North Dakota has lower average predicted risk than the US benchmark.

Payment delays compared

North Dakota1.12 days
United States1.94 days

North Dakota businesses average fewer days beyond agreed terms than the national benchmark.

What is the average business credit risk in North Dakota?

The Creditsafe business credit score ranges from 1 to 100 and predicts the likelihood of a company becoming seriously delinquent (90 or more days beyond payment terms) within the next 12 months or going bankrupt. Higher scores indicate lower credit risk. North Dakota businesses have an average score of 53.22, compared with 51.76 nationally, suggesting lower average credit risk. These averages do not replace assessment of individual companies.

North Dakota businesses by risk category

Low29.2%
Medium42.8%
High20.9%
N/A7.1%

Shares reflect the supplied aggregate risk categories, which should not be equated with individual-company credit score bands.

Creditsafe US score bands are: very low risk (71-100), low risk (51-70), moderate risk (30-50), high risk (21-29), and very high risk (1-20). N/A indicates an unavailable or inapplicable score. The dataset’s aggregated low, medium and high categories are retained as supplied and should not be assumed to correspond exactly to these individual-company score bands.

How quickly do North Dakota businesses pay their bills?

Businesses in North Dakota average 1.12 days beyond terms (DBT), compared with 1.94 nationally, a difference of -0.82 days. The supplied on-time payment figure is 31.72%. DBT and on-time payment percentage are separate measures and should not be treated as interchangeable.

Among the ten largest listed industries, Eating Places has the highest average DBT (2.38 days), while Religious Organizations has the lowest (0.17 days). Industry aggregates do not establish the payment behavior of any particular company.

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How established are North Dakota businesses?

The median recorded company age is 18 years and the average is 24 years. The database includes 84,911 businesses aged 20 years or more and 112,452 records with no available company age.

Company ageShare of business records
Under 5 years3.8%
5-10 years10.1%
10-20 years22.1%
20+ years27.5%
N/A36.5%

Percentages use all 308,237 North Dakota business records, including those with no recorded age. Totals may differ slightly from 100% due to rounding.

What are the largest industries in North Dakota?

Business Services is the largest listed industry, with 11,211 businesses in the Creditsafe database. The chart and table rank the ten largest listed industries by number of business records, not by employment or economic output.

North Dakota ten largest industries by business records

Business Services11,211
Real Estate Agents and Managers7,886
Eating Places7,381
Residential Construction6,152
Religious Organizations4,856
General Farms, Primarily Crop4,752
Legal Services3,809
Trucking, Except Local3,729
Offices and Clinics of Medical Doctors3,674
Single-family Housing Construction3,295

Longer bars indicate larger recorded industry populations.

RankIndustryBusiness records
1Business Services11,211
2Real Estate Agents and Managers7,886
3Eating Places7,381
4Residential Construction6,152
5Religious Organizations4,856
6General Farms, Primarily Crop4,752
7Legal Services3,809
8Trucking, Except Local3,729
9Offices and Clinics of Medical Doctors3,674
10Single-family Housing Construction3,295

The three largest listed industries together account for 26,478 records (8.6% of the state database). These industry rankings should not be interpreted as employment or economic output rankings.

Average credit score by industry

Business Services51.01
Real Estate Agents and Managers53.71
Eating Places51.99
Residential Construction45.31
Religious Organizations57.62

Higher scores indicate lower predicted risk. Five leading industries shown.

Payment delays by industry

Business Services0.59 days
Real Estate Agents and Managers0.41 days
Eating Places2.38 days
Residential Construction1.36 days
Religious Organizations0.17 days

Average days beyond terms for five leading industries with available values.

Credit score profile across leading industries

Industries are ordered by business record count, not time. The line connects categorical observations and is not a historical trend.

Which North Dakota industries stand out for credit risk and payment behavior?

Among the ten largest industries, Religious Organizations has the highest average credit score (57.62, indicating lower predicted risk), while Residential Construction has the lowest (45.31, indicating higher predicted risk). Eating Places records the longest average payment delay (2.38 DBT). Industry averages do not establish the creditworthiness of an individual business.

Industry (top ten)Average credit scoreAverage DBT
Business Services51.010.59
Real Estate Agents and Managers53.710.41
Eating Places51.992.38
Residential Construction45.311.36
Religious Organizations57.620.17
General Farms, Primarily Crop57.560.87
Legal Services55.870.87
Trucking, Except Local48.001.19
Offices and Clinics of Medical Doctors57.431.17
Single-family Housing Construction49.561.33

How does North Dakota compare with US averages?

MetricNorth DakotaUnited States
Average credit score53.2251.76
Average DBT (days)1.121.94

North Dakota is 1.46 points above the national average credit score and 0.82 days below the national payment delay. These measures can move in different directions, so neither should be used alone to assess a business.

About Creditsafe data

These statistics are derived from Creditsafe’s US business database and provide an aggregated view of records associated with North Dakota. They are not official state registration totals. An active business has had at least one qualifying company-information, payment-data or legal-filing update in the last two years, which does not necessarily establish current trading. State and industry averages provide context and should not replace assessment of an individual business credit report.

Source: US_STATE_SEO_LLM_FINAL_20261101.csv | Data as of October 31, 2026 | Refresh frequency: monthly.

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