BISMARCK, ND (KXNET) — Where does agriculture rank among North Dakota’s top revenue-producing industries? First? Second? Third? Nope, not among the top three.

How many miles of road does North Dakota have? How much of that is rural roads?

Is it true spending on education is going up while test scores are going down?

Answers to these and other questions can be found in a small handbook filled with big numbers covering most of the financial statistics about North Dakota.

With a non-nonsense title of “North Dakota Finance Facts 2024,” it is a legislator’s pocket guide to North Dakota budget and performance statistics, compiled by the North Dakota Legislative Council.

At a glance, one can get a sense of where money at the state level comes and goes.

Here are just a few of the interesting facts and stats from the 2024 edition of the booklet:

• In 2023, North Dakota’s Gross State Product, the total value of all the finished goods and services produced within the state, was $74 billion. In 2020, it was $54 billion.
• The Gross State Product by major industry breaks down like this:
  • Mining (including oil extraction): $10.7 billion
  • Government: $7.2 billion
  • Real Estate, Rental and Leasing: $6.9 billion
  • Agriculture: $6.0 billion
• Total State Foreign Exports totaled $8.8 billion in 2023, up from $5.2 billion in 2022. The top exports:
  • Biodiesel: $4.6 billion
  • Crude Oil: $570 million
  • Tractors: $434 million
  • Front-End Shovel Loaders and Excavators: $355 million
  • Corn: $315 million
• Crop Average Prices 2023-24:
  • Dry Edible Beans: $38.10
  • Lentils: $38.00
  • Canola: $24.40
  • Sunflower: $20.30
  • Dry Edible Peas: $15.50
  • Potatoes: $14.80
  • Soybeans: $12.30
  • Flaxseed: $12.10
  • All Wheat: $7.45
  • Barley: $6.60
  • Rye: $6.25
  • Corn: $4.45
  • Oats: $3.65
  • Hay: $114.00
• Number of full-time equivalent state employees 2023-2025: 9,596.
• Number of full-time equivalent state employees 2017-2019: 9,080.
• North Dakota K-12 School Aid Appropriations 2023-25: $2,382.
• North Dakota K-12 School Aid Appropriations 2017-19: $2,016.
• Student Enrollment 2023-24: 115,767. Enrollment in 2019-20: 112,858.
• Public School Teachers 2023-24: 9,283. Teachers in 2019-20: 9,092.
• Average NAEP Scores – 8th Grade Mathematics: 278 in 2022. 291 in 2013.
• Average NAEP Scores – 8th Grade Reading: 258 in 2022. 268 in 2013.
• North Dakota University System Fall Student Enrollment Full Time Equivalent 2023: 33,422
• North Dakota University System Fall Student Enrollment Full Time Equivalent 2018: 36,603
• Construction Cost Per Mile – Two-Lane Road Reconstruction: $1.9 million
• Construction Cost Per Mile – Asphalt surface Reconstruction: $1.3 million
• North Dakota Roads (88,447 miles of road total)
  • State Highway System: 7,415 miles
  • County Road: 15,619
  • Other Rural Roads: 61,052 miles
  • City Streets: 4,361 miles