Property Appraiser and Assessor Career Assessment
Deciding what land and buildings are worth
Welcome
Property appraisers and assessors decide what land and buildings are worth. Appraisers do it for banks and buyers. Assessors do it for the county, so property taxes are fair.
This career has a real licensing ladder with a real bottleneck. You will explore both, and whether it fits you.
This takes about 15 minutes.
What is a Property Appraiser and Assessor?
An appraiser visits a property, measures it, notes its condition, compares it to similar properties that sold, and writes a report saying what it is worth. Banks order these before they lend money. An assessor does similar valuing work for a city or county, so that each property owner pays a fair share of property tax. O*NET describes the job as appraising real estate and estimating its fair value, and notes that a state license is required.
The Reality: This job has a clear, well-defined licensing ladder — and one real bottleneck. To become an appraiser in North Dakota you start as an apprentice, and you cannot get the apprentice permit until you have found a certified appraiser who agrees to supervise you and signs your registration form. That supervisor must have been certified and in good standing for at least 3 years, and can supervise no more than 3 apprentices at once. Finding someone willing to take you on is the hardest single step in this career. It is not a paperwork problem you can solve alone. Start asking appraisal firms in your area long before you finish the courses. County assessor work is a separate, easier door with its own certification through the state Tax Commissioner.
Your Responsibilities:
- Visit and measure properties, inside and out
- Photograph and note the condition of a building
- Look up recent sales of similar properties
- Research county records for lot size, zoning, and taxes
- Compare the property to those sales and adjust for differences
- Write a report a bank or a county will rely on
- Follow the national appraisal standards, called USPAP
- Explain your value to an owner who disagrees with it
You put an honest number on what a property is worth, and you can defend it.
A Day in the Life
8:00 AM — Review today's three property files and plan your driving route.
8:45 AM — Drive to a farmstead outside town. Measure the house and outbuildings.
10:30 AM — Photograph the property and note its condition.
11:30 AM — Drive to a second property in town. Repeat.
12:30 PM — Lunch in the truck.
1:15 PM — Back at the office. Pull recent sales of similar homes.
2:30 PM — Write the report and adjust for differences between properties.
4:30 PM — Call an owner who disagrees with last week's value. Explain it calmly.
Half driving and measuring, half writing at a desk. Lots of time alone.
Training in North Dakota
You take approved appraisal courses, not a college degree, for the first two levels. North Dakota colleges do not teach the appraisal qualifying courses. Those come from education providers the board approves, and most are online. What the colleges do give you is the associate or bachelor's degree the two higher certified levels require. County assessors take a different course set, through the state Tax Commissioner and the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO).
Training Pathways:
- Appraiser ladder (start to certified, 2 to 5 years): Finish the approved apprentice courses, find a supervisor, work under them for the required hours, then test up. Each level adds more course hours and more supervised hours.
- County assessor (about 1 to 2 years): Get hired by a city or county, then earn Class 2 or Class 1 assessor certification through IAAO courses paid for by the employer. This is the easier door and it does not need a supervising appraiser.
- College degree alongside (2 to 4 years): An associate or bachelor's degree, which the Certified Residential and Certified General levels require. A business, real estate, or agriculture degree works.
Where to Train in North Dakota:
- ND Real Estate Appraiser Qualifications and Ethics Board — keeps the list of approved course providers. Approved providers include the Appraisal Institute, McKissock, the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, Calypso Continuing Education, Allterra, and the ND Appraisers Association. Most courses are online — ndappraiserboard.org
- ND Office of State Tax Commissioner (Bismarck) — runs assessor training and certification for city and county assessment officials, including its own 30-hour Agricultural Land Valuation course — tax.nd.gov
- International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) — provides the required assessor courses, online and in classrooms: Fundamentals of Real Property Appraisal, Income Approach to Valuation, Fundamentals of Mass Appraisal, and online courses in site analysis, cost approach, sales comparison, income approach, and mass appraisal — iaao.org
- Bismarck State College (Bismarck) — Business Administration, Associate in Arts, on campus or online. Useful toward the college credit the Certified Residential level requires — bismarckstate.edu
- North Dakota State College of Science (Wahpeton and Fargo) — Business Management, AAS (Administration and Finance), 61 credits — catalog.ndscs.edu
- North Dakota State University (Fargo) — Business Administration, BS, 120 credits, for the bachelor's degree the Certified General level requires — catalog.ndsu.edu
- University of North Dakota (Grand Forks) — Business Administration, BBA, 120 credits, on campus or online — und.edu
Before You Start: High school diploma or GED. You need a driver's license and a reliable vehicle. You should be comfortable measuring, using a tape and a sketch, and writing carefully. Basic math and spreadsheet skill help.
Tip: Start with financial aid, scholarships, and any help an employer offers — that is where the money starts. After that, ask a career counselor or Job Service North Dakota whether WIOA or other programs can help with what is left over, like training, tools, work boots, or exam fees. What can be paid for depends on the program and on your own situation, so ask before you sign up rather than after. Registered apprenticeships let you earn a paycheck while you learn — see jobsnd.com/job-seeker/apprenticeships for ND programs.
Certification & Licensing
North Dakota licenses appraisers in four steps, and you cannot skip the apprentice step. The North Dakota Real Estate Appraiser Qualifications and Ethics Board issues the credentials, following the national criteria set by the Appraiser Qualifications Board. Here is the ladder as the board's own application states it.
The License Ladder in North Dakota:
- Apprentice — 75 hours of board-approved appraisal courses plus a supervisor and apprentice course, finished within the 5 years before you apply. No appraisal experience needed. You must register a supervisory appraiser before the permit is issued. Application fee $300 (ndappraiserboard.org)
- Your supervisor — must be a certified appraiser, in good standing for at least 3 years, with no disciplinary action in the last 3 years, must finish the approved supervisor course and pass an open-book exam on ND law, and may supervise no more than 3 apprentices at one time. Finding this person is the real gate (ndappraiserboard.org)
- Licensed — 150 hours of board-approved courses and 1,000 hours of experience over at least 6 months. Application fee $400 (ndappraiserboard.org)
- Certified Residential — an associate degree or higher in a related field, or 30 semester hours of college coursework, plus 200 hours of courses and 1,500 hours of experience over at least 12 months (ndappraiserboard.org)
- Certified General — a bachelor's degree or higher, plus 300 hours of courses and 3,000 hours of experience over at least 18 months, with at least half of those hours on non-residential property (ndappraiserboard.org)
- County assessor (separate path) — the ND Office of State Tax Commissioner certifies assessment officials. Class 2 needs 80 hours of instruction and 10 hours of continuing education per term. Class 1 needs 180 hours and 20 hours of continuing education per term. No supervising appraiser is required (tax.nd.gov)
The Exams: Apprentices take an open-book exam on North Dakota appraisal law and rules. The Licensed, Certified Residential, and Certified General levels each require passing the matching national Uniform State examination, which stays valid for 24 months after you pass it. Heads up: the national criteria that took effect January 1, 2026 raised the course hours at the lower levels — 83 hours for apprentice and 158 for licensed. Call the board and confirm which numbers apply to you before you buy courses (ndappraiserboard.org).
Cost: Board application fees are $300 for apprentice and $400 for the licensed and certified levels, plus $41.25 for the criminal history check paid to the ND Attorney General. Courses are bought separately from approved providers, and they are the larger cost.
Keeping It Current: Every apprentice, licensed, and certified appraiser must finish at least 28 class hours of approved continuing education in each two-year renewal period. County assessors have their own continuing education: 10 hours per term for Class 2, 20 hours per term for Class 1.
Salary & Job Outlook
North Dakota Property Appraiser and Assessor Pay (May 2025):
- Starting out (bottom 10–25%): $23.10–$26.61/hour ($48,040–$55,340/year)
- Middle (median — half earn more, half earn less): $31.35/hour ($65,210/year)
- Experienced (top 25–10%): $42.98–$53.13/hour ($89,400–$110,510/year)
What that means: The middle North Dakota appraiser or assessor earns about $31.35 an hour, or about $65,210 a year. That is close to the national middle of $32.67. Notice the bottom of the range: North Dakota's lowest tenth, about $23.10 an hour, is actually higher than the national lowest tenth of $19.25, so entry pay here holds up well. The top runs a little under the national top. Treat these numbers with extra care for one reason: only about 340 people in the whole state hold this job, so a small sample is moving the figures. Also, many appraisers are self-employed and paid per report, so their income swings with how many homes are selling. County assessors are salaried government workers with steadier pay and benefits.
Jobs in North Dakota: About 340 people do this work in ND today. By 2034, that should be about 360 (about 7% growth). Expect about 30 job openings every year in ND from growth and people retiring or changing jobs. Across the U.S., the change is about 4% growth — average.
Outlook: Modest but real. North Dakota is projected to go from about 340 to about 360 of these jobs, with about 30 openings a year. That is a small field, so openings are few, but many current appraisers are near retirement age and firms across the state say they need people.
Who Hires in ND: Independent appraisal firms, banks and credit unions, county and city assessor offices, the ND Office of State Tax Commissioner, farm credit lenders, and self-employment. Some appraisers specialize in farmland, which matters a lot in North Dakota.
Work Setting: A mix. You drive to properties in town and in the country, measure and photograph them, then write the report at an office or at home. Winter driving on rural roads is part of the job.
Physical Demands: Moderate. Walking around buildings and lots, climbing stairs, crawling into attics or basements, measuring outdoors in cold and heat, and a lot of driving. Loose dogs and uneven ground are real hazards.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Dakota, May 2025 (SOC 13-2023); North Dakota and U.S. long-term employment projections 2024–2034, via O*NET OnLine. Numbers are rounded.
Where This Leads
Path 1: Apprentice Appraiser — You work under a certified appraiser.
Path 2: Licensed Appraiser — You appraise simpler homes on your own.
Path 3: Certified Residential Appraiser — Any home, any value.
Path 4: Certified General Appraiser — Commercial buildings and farmland too. Highest pay.
Path 5: County or City Assessor — Salaried government work with benefits.
Path 6: Appraisal Firm Owner — Run your own shop and take on apprentices.
The Real Talk
What's Great:
- Clear licensing ladder you can plan around
- Entry pay is above the national entry pay
- You can be self-employed
- Mix of outdoor and desk work
- Farmland appraisal is in demand here
- County assessor jobs are steady with benefits
What's Hard:
- You must find a supervisor to start
- Small field with few openings
- Lots of winter driving alone
- Certified levels require a college degree
- Self-employed income rises and falls with the housing market
- Owners argue with your numbers
Be Honest: Are you willing to spend months finding a certified appraiser who will supervise you? Can you drive alone in North Dakota winters? Can you hold your ground politely when a property owner is unhappy with your number?