Fargo, North Dakota Population 2024

Fargo is the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota and the largest city in the state, accounting for almost 16% of North Dakota's population.

Fargo -- along with Moorhead, Minnesota; West Fargo, North Dakota, and Dilworth, Minnesota -- make up the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area, which has a population of 229,000.

Fargo Diversity

The average age in Fargo is 30 years with 19% of people under the age of 18. About 16% of people in Fargo live below the poverty line. The Fargo-Moorhead metro area is even less diverse with a white population of more than 93%.

The Asian population in the Fargo metro area is somewhat diverse. People of Chinese descent account for 0.5% of the community as the largest Asian American group, followed by Indians, Vietnamese, Koreans, and Filipinos. Hispanics and Latinos are the most significant minority in the metropolitan area at 2.5% of the population, of which most are Mexican with small groups of Puerto Ricans and Cubans.

North Dakota as a whole has one of the least diverse populations among U.S. states. Black, Hispanic, and Asian people each account for less than 2% of the population while Native Americans represent the largest minority at 5.4% of North Dakota's population.

The most common ancestry groups in Fargo include German (41%), Norwegian (36%), Irish (9%), Swedish (6.5%), English (5%), French (4.7%), and Italian (3.5%).

Fargo Population Growth

Forbes recently ranked Fargo as the 4th fastest-growing small city in the country with a population growth of almost 28% between 2000 and 2013 and job growth of more than 28% between 2001 and 2014.

In 2011, North Dakota had the country's lowest unemployment rate following a decade of prosperity. Fargo hit a record high of 105,550 people in 2011, while its neighbor, West Fargo, reached 25,800 people. Fargo continues its steady growth because the housing boom (and bust) missed it completely.

Fargo and North Dakota as a whole have trouble attracting new residents in large part due to the area's extreme temperatures, with average temperatures in January below zero. The state often hosts job fairs in other states to match people with jobs in the region.