September 3, 2025 Buying Billboard Advertising
No matter the industry or the size of your organization, capturing high-visibility attention along highways and urban corridors offers a competitive edge. In North Dakota, where cities like Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, and Williston serve as crucial commercial arteries, billboard advertising remains an efficient, affordable, and highly scalable choice. Whether you’re looking to ramp up seasonal retail campaigns, reinforce branding for a regional service, or directly drive physical or digital traffic, the North Dakota OOH market offers both diverse options and measurable results.
Carefully planned billboard placements along I‑29, I‑94, and densely-trafficked suburban splitters allow brands to engage commuters, travelers, and local consumers with a presence that’s impossible to scroll past or ignore. The strength of North Dakota lies in its blend of affordable inventory, strategic corridors, and the ability to combine traditional tactics with digital-age measurement. Whether you’re thinking about your first outdoor campaign or seeking to improve ROI across multiple markets, clarity on cost structures, market differences, and performance tracking is a must-have.
Budgeting for billboard advertising in North Dakota is refreshingly flexible, with rate cards covering a broad spectrum of formats, locations, and campaign durations. Here’s a core breakdown:
Static boards require an initial design and fabrication fee, commonly around $850 per sign. Keep in mind: creative refreshes every 3–6 months are highly recommended to maintain response rates and avoid “sign fatigue.”
To build meaningful frequency and regional tour coverage, most providers recommend budgeting no less than $5,000 per campaign (total), with higher investments expanding both reach and visibility windows.
This structure makes North Dakota particularly accessible for organizations with both focused local plays and those rolling out statewide campaigns.
The regional diversity in North Dakota is both a challenge and an advantage. Each market delivers a unique cost-to-value proposition tied to its population, traffic volume, and local economy.
Bismarck, as the state’s capital, brings together government, healthcare, and a steady commuter pulse. Local inventory is limited, which can push rates slightly upward relative to population size.
Average cost per unit hovers around $1,907, delivering a cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) near $1.30 and reaching approximately 1.46 million impressions per four weeks. The blend of exclusivity and robust commuter counts makes Bismarck an exceptional “value buy” for statewide focuses.
North Dakota’s largest city, Fargo, sits at the intersection of two major interstates (I‑29 and I‑94) and commands the broadest audience and largest billboard inventory.
The costs are similar to Bismarck but with higher inventory, making it easy to scale up campaigns across multiple neighborhoods or arterial approaches.
Grand Forks, with its robust student and military footprint, offers both low CPMs and substantial available inventory.
The surplus of boards leads to lower per-board pricing, making high-frequency campaigns possible even on conservative budgets.
This fast-growing suburb benefits from proximity to Fargo’s retail and commuter corridors.
West Fargo serves as an excellent secondary market for supplementing Fargo buys or reaching new-growth neighborhoods.
Located at the edge of North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields, Williston’s energy-driven economy causes periodic surges in traffic.
Williston offers solid visibility and higher reported household incomes, ideal for targeting transient workforce and high-spend consumers.
Rural boards, if available, are generally the most affordable but offer lower total impressions. Staffed transit panels and bus stops provide additional touchpoints in county seats.
Here’s a quick-reference guide encapsulating the statewide and market-level rates (all for a four-week cycle):
| Location | Format | Price Estimate | Notes/CPM & Impressions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide | Small Posters | From $366 | |
| Static Bulletins | $1,281–$5,033 | ||
| Digital Bulletins | $1,559–$5,319 | ||
| Med Posters Static | $700–$1,200 | ||
| Med Posters Digital | $1,500–$2,000 | ||
| Bismarck | Avg Billboard | ~$1,907 | CPM ~$1.30; Impr ~1.46M |
| Fargo | All Formats | $600–$11,240 | Broadest range/up to $11K |
| Grand Forks | Avg Static/Digital | ~$1,030 / ~$1,200 | CPM ~$3.77; Impr ~455M |
| West Fargo | Static/Digital | ~$2,730 / ~$1,000 | CPM ~$4.19; Impr ~6.8M |
| Williston | Format Range | Static ~$3.5K; Digital ~$2.5K | Up to ~$3.8K |
| Towner County | Static/Digital/Bus | $1.2K–$4.7K / $1.5K–$5.3K / $373–845 |
Getting the best value from your North Dakota billboard investment means embracing new tools for measurement and optimization. Today’s OOH campaigns can be tracked, attributed, and refined in ways that rival their digital counterparts.
Here are some proven methods:
These tools make it clear which locations and formats are moving the needle, letting advertisers double down on high-performing zones.
Incorporating one or more of these will help clarify your billboard campaign’s impact and relative cost-effectiveness.
Smart planning is what makes statewide visibility genuinely affordable. Here’s a framework that works for most organizations:
Sample breakdown for a $30,000, 12-week campaign might look like:
| City/Region | Board Type | # Boards | Weeks | Rate (4wk) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fargo Metro | (1) Digital | 1 | 12 | ~$6,000 | ~$18K |
| (2) Static | 2 | 12 | ~$900 | ~$5.4K | |
| Bismarck | (1) Static | 1 | 12 | ~$500 | ~$1.5K |
| Grand Forks | (1) Static | 1 | 12 | ~$500 | ~$1.5K |
| West Fargo | (1) Static | 1 | 12 | ~$500 | ~$1.5K |
| Williston | (1) Static | 1 | 12 | ~$400 | ~$1.2K |
| TOTAL | – | – | – | – | ~$29K |
Multiplying digital and premium static placements in Fargo and nearby West Fargo gives heavy coverage where traffic and CPM justify greater investment. Supplementary boards in Bismarck, Grand Forks, and Williston expand reach statewide at a lower marginal cost. Local boards in rural counties can be integrated for specific projects or awareness campaigns.
Aligning your allocation to customer geographies, traffic data, and business channel strategy ensures that each dollar yields the strongest return.
The North Dakota billboard landscape blends strong value with modern trackability, making it an outstanding platform for brand campaigns, retail calls-to-action, or event launches. By working with local providers, investing thoughtfully in creative and durations, and leveraging measurement tools, you can create a presence that dominates both highways and urban cores. Sharpen your approach by targeting key markets, comparing format performance, and optimizing placement based on quantifiable response. From Fargo’s bustling interstates to rural community posters, the right outdoor messaging holds the power to transform regional awareness into measurable results.
From Fargo’s I-94 corridors to Bismarck’s main routes, North Dakota highways deliver unmatched exposure. Connect with Justin at [email protected] to buy billboard advertising that drives awareness and keeps your brand top of mind.
