Do North Dakota Residents Get In-State Tuition in Minnesota? (Undergraduate, 2026)
Yes — North Dakota and Minnesota run Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity, so North Dakota residents can pay the Minnesota in-state undergraduate rate of about $16,500 a year instead of the $36,000 non-resident rate at University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Check the current terms before you apply.
- You would pay
- $16,500/yr
- Resident pays
- $16,500/yr
- Non-resident rate
- $36,000/yr
- Saved over 4 yrs
- $78,000
Tuition and mandatory fees only, compiled from published rates and rounded. Excludes housing, books and course differentials. Eligibility is decided by the institution, not by this page.
Open this pair in the checker to switch level, compare other states, or copy a link to the result.
North Dakota to Minnesota is covered by Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity. That agreement is renegotiated between the two states rather than administered by a national body, so its terms move more often than a compact's do — read the current year before you rely on it.
20 other states offer North Dakota residents a reduced undergraduate rate, the lowest being Wyoming at about $10,050. At home, in-state undergraduate tuition is $11,100 at University of North Dakota, so Minnesota works out at $5,400 a year more than staying home.
The failure mode is timing. Awards of this kind are funded annually and allocated in the order applications arrive, so a student admitted in March can find the program closed while a student admitted in November does not.
Every route from North Dakota to Minnesota
| Route | What it gives you | Per year | Saving | Guaranteed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity | Minnesota maintains standing reciprocity agreements with both Dakotas. Residents of either side pay a reciprocity rate at the other's public institutions, applied for through the Minnesota Office of Higher Education or the partner state's system office. | $16,500 | $19,500 | Yes, if eligible |
| Midwest Student Exchange Program | Participating public institutions charge MSEP students no more than 150% of their in-state resident rate. Participating private institutions instead discount their own published tuition by at least 10%. Each institution chooses whether to take part and which programs it opens. | $24,750 | $11,250 | Conditional |
Where North Dakota residents pay less
Staying home, a North Dakota resident pays $11,100 a year for in-state undergraduate tuition at University of North Dakota. The cheapest Minnesota option for you is $16,500 at University of Minnesota Twin Cities, which is $5,400 a year more than staying home, or $21,600 over 4 years.
North Dakota belongs to Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) and Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP) at undergraduate level, so 21 of 50 states offer North Dakota undergraduate students a reduced rate, and Minnesota is one of them.
| State | Route | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota to Wyoming | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of Wyoming | $10,050 |
| North Dakota to Montana | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of Montana | $12,000 |
| North Dakota to Nevada | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of Nevada, Las Vegas | $13,350 |
| North Dakota to New Mexico | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of New Mexico | $13,350 |
| North Dakota to South Dakota | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of South Dakota | $13,600 |
North Dakota's neighboring states, compared
What a North Dakota resident pays for undergraduate tuition in each state that borders North Dakota, cheapest first:
- Montana$12,000/yr · Western Undergraduate Exchange
- South Dakota$13,600/yr · Western Undergraduate Exchange
- Minnesota$16,500/yr · Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity
Compare all 50 states from North Dakota in the checker. Each figure is one reference campus per state, not a state average.
Minnesota residency, in brief
Minnesota grants in-state tuition after 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Minn. Stat. § 135A.031), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile. Moving to Minnesota to enroll does not by itself start the clock.
Minnesota residency requirements in full · how long every state requires
Step by step
- Read the current terms of Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity — bilateral agreements are renegotiated and can narrow to specific campuses or majors between academic years.
- Apply through the channel the agreement specifies; several are administered by the home state's higher-education agency, not by the receiving campus.
- Provide proof of North Dakota residency in the form the agreement requires.
- If you fall outside the agreement's scope, fall back to the residency route: 12 months of Minnesota domicile.
Official links
Related
Asked and answered
›Do North Dakota residents get in-state tuition in Minnesota?
Effectively yes, through Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity, but it is not residency. You pay the in-state rate of about $16,500 while remaining a North Dakota resident for every other purpose, and the benefit ends if you leave the approved program.
›How long does it take to get in-state tuition in Minnesota?
Minnesota requires 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Minn. Stat. § 135A.031), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile.
›How much would undergraduate study in Minnesota actually cost a North Dakota resident?
About $16,500 a year in tuition and mandatory fees under Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity, against $36,000 at the published non-resident rate and $16,500 for a Minnesota resident. Over 4 years that is roughly $78,000 saved. Figures are compiled 2025–26 published rates and exclude housing, books and course-specific differentials.
›Is there more than one way to lower the cost?
Yes — 2 routes apply to this pair: Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity, Midwest Student Exchange Program. They are not stackable. You take the one you qualify for, and where more than one applies the campus normally applies whichever produces the lower rate.
›Where can North Dakota residents get reduced undergraduate tuition?
In 21 states at undergraduate level. Outside Minnesota, the lowest are Wyoming ($10,050), Montana ($12,000), Nevada ($13,350). Each figure is one reference campus, and awards are made campus by campus.
›Is studying in Minnesota cheaper than staying in North Dakota?
No. North Dakota's in-state undergraduate rate is $11,100 a year at University of North Dakota, and the cheapest Minnesota option for a North Dakota resident is $16,500, so Minnesota costs about $5,400 more a year, or $21,600 over 4 years, in tuition and fees alone.
Sources
Every eligibility rule on this page is checked against the operating compact commission or the state's own residency authority. Last verified 2026-09-27.
Tuition figures on this page are compiled 2025–26 published rates (basis: published compiled), rounded to the nearest $100 and refreshed each June. Eligibility rules are checked against the cited compact commission or residency authority.
- Minnesota Office of Higher Education — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Minnesota Twin Cities — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of North Dakota — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
How this page was made
Compiled and checked by Billy Reiner, editor of In-State Check. Last verified 2026-09-27.
- Compiled from published rate pages
- The in-state and non-resident figures are tuition and mandatory fees for one full-time year, read from University of Minnesota Twin Cities’s own 2025–26 rate page and rounded to the nearest $100. Housing, books, travel and course-specific differentials are not included in them.
- Checked against the administering body
- Compact membership at this level was checked against the commission that runs the program (WICHE, MHEC). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against Minnesota Office of Higher Education, Minn. Stat. § 135A.031. Nothing here is taken from another comparison site.
Not advice. In-State Check is independent of every college, compact and state agency named here. Residency classification and award decisions are made by the institution you apply to. Found an error? Send the page URL and the source that contradicts it to [email protected], and the page is corrected and re-dated. Full methodology.