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Cliff-Zone Families
15,182
Total Wage Suppression
$11.1M
State Avg Cliff Zone
13.6%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In North Dakota, an estimated 15,182 families across 53 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cass County | 193,400 | 13.1% | 3,453 | $2.5M | 251% |
| Grand Forks County | 72,923 | 16.5% | 1,512 | $1.1M | 251% |
| Ward County | 68,973 | 13.0% | 1,417 | $1.0M | 251% |
| Burleigh County | 100,600 | 10.5% | 1,357 | $988K | 251% |
| Williams County | 39,555 | 13.2% | 973 | $708K | 251% |
| Morton County | 33,777 | 11.7% | 566 | $412K | 251% |
| Stark County | 33,302 | 10.6% | 556 | $405K | 251% |
| Stutsman County | 21,549 | 14.8% | 423 | $308K | 251% |
| McKenzie County | 14,321 | 14.5% | 361 | $263K | 251% |
| Rolette County | 11,924 | 20.0% | 326 | $237K | 251% |
| Richland County | 16,584 | 15.6% | 317 | $231K | 251% |
| Mountrail County | 9,507 | 16.7% | 266 | $194K | 251% |
| Walsh County | 10,396 | 14.1% | 256 | $186K | 251% |
| Ramsey County | 11,556 | 16.2% | 192 | $140K | 251% |
| Pembina County | 6,727 | 18.7% | 190 | $138K | 251% |
| Bottineau County | 6,378 | 16.2% | 176 | $128K | 251% |
| Dickey County | 4,935 | 18.1% | 174 | $127K | 251% |
| Mercer County | 8,337 | 13.1% | 166 | $121K | 251% |
| Benson County | 5,808 | 21.4% | 152 | $111K | 251% |
| Barnes County | 10,773 | 11.3% | 149 | $108K | 251% |
| Traill County | 7,970 | 12.2% | 143 | $104K | 251% |
| McLean County | 9,823 | 9.4% | 141 | $103K | 251% |
| Wells County | 3,890 | 22.7% | 130 | $95K | 251% |
| Pierce County | 3,928 | 15.8% | 110 | $80K | 251% |
| Sioux County | 3,740 | 20.2% | 109 | $79K | 251% |
| LaMoure County | 4,118 | 14.6% | 107 | $78K | 251% |
| Towner County | 2,079 | 29.2% | 104 | $76K | 251% |
| Emmons County | 3,254 | 24.9% | 98 | $71K | 251% |
| McHenry County | 5,207 | 12.5% | 96 | $70K | 251% |
| Foster County | 3,358 | 15.3% | 87 | $63K | 251% |
| Logan County | 1,819 | 26.3% | 81 | $59K | 251% |
| McIntosh County | 2,497 | 21.6% | 80 | $58K | 251% |
| Hettinger County | 2,432 | 17.8% | 70 | $51K | 251% |
| Sargent County | 3,804 | 10.3% | 69 | $50K | 251% |
| Dunn County | 4,040 | 12.4% | 68 | $50K | 251% |
| Ransom County | 5,643 | 11.5% | 67 | $49K | 251% |
| Grant County | 2,269 | 21.6% | 64 | $47K | 251% |
| Adams County | 2,145 | 20.5% | 62 | $45K | 251% |
| Cavalier County | 3,633 | 16.2% | 61 | $44K | 251% |
| Oliver County | 1,839 | 17.9% | 58 | $42K | 251% |
| Nelson County | 3,016 | 18.6% | 56 | $41K | 251% |
| Kidder County | 2,377 | 17.8% | 56 | $41K | 251% |
| Renville County | 2,304 | 13.4% | 52 | $38K | 251% |
| Eddy County | 2,307 | 16.1% | 36 | $26K | 251% |
| Burke County | 2,156 | 9.4% | 35 | $25K | 251% |
| Bowman County | 2,906 | 6.6% | 30 | $22K | 251% |
| Griggs County | 2,245 | 14.9% | 28 | $20K | 251% |
| Golden Valley County | 1,653 | 9.7% | 28 | $20K | 251% |
| Sheridan County | 1,303 | 12.5% | 21 | $15K | 251% |
| Steele County | 1,804 | 13.7% | 16 | $12K | 251% |
| Divide County | 2,167 | 6.4% | 13 | $9K | 287% |
| Slope County | 766 | 19.1% | 13 | $9K | 251% |
| Billings County | 1,024 | 12.2% | 11 | $8K | 251% |
53 of 53 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.