Fargo-Moorhead

Fargo-Moorhead (F-M) is the name of the metropolitan area composed of Fargo, North Dakota, Moorhead, Minnesota, and surrounding cities. The two twin cities lie on the North Dakota-Minnesota border, on opposite banks of the Red River of the North. The larger Fargo-Moorhead area also encompasses the communities of West Fargo, North Dakota and Dilworth, Minnesota.

Related Topics:
Metropolitan area - Fargo, North Dakota - Moorhead, Minnesota - Twin cities - North Dakota - Minnesota - Red River of the North - West Fargo, North Dakota - Dilworth, Minnesota

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Downtown Fargo and downtown Moorhead are literally just across the river from each other, and over time have essentially merged into one downtown, with the river and its banks creating a sort of park in the middle. The suburban areas, however, remain distinct because of a lack of bridges. The southern part of Fargo, along Interstate 29, is one of the most rapidly developing residential areas.

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The Census Bureau defines the Fargo Metropolitan Area as comprising Cass County, North Dakota and Clay County, Minnesota. The metropolitan area has an area of 7,278 km² (2,810 mi²), and its population according to the 2000 census was 174,367. However, each county is largely rural and contains several small towns that are not contiguous with the urban core. Therefore, the core of the area, including Fargo, West Fargo, Moorhead, and Dilworth, has a population closer to 140,000 and probably occupies less than 10% of the two counties' combined area.

Related Topics:
Cass County, North Dakota - Clay County, Minnesota

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The Census Bureau also tracks a Fargo-Wahpeton Combined Statistical Area, consisting of Cass and Clay counties, as well as Richland County, North Dakota and Wilkin County, Minnesota. This area includes the twin cities of Wahpeton, North Dakota and Breckenridge, Minnesota. The Fargo-Moorhead urban core is actually about an hour's worth of highway travel from the Wahpeton-Breckenridge core. The main connection between these two pairs of cities is the Red River Valley, the flat, fertile land that both depend upon for a major part of their economies. Potatoes are an important crop in the region, in addition to most of the other crops produced elsewhere in Minnesota and North Dakota.

Related Topics:
Combined Statistical Area - Richland County, North Dakota - Wilkin County, Minnesota - Wahpeton, North Dakota - Breckenridge, Minnesota - Red River Valley

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Fargo-Moorhead is the largest metropolitan area in North Dakota, and is a fast-growing region. Reasons for this include several institutions of higher learning, including North Dakota State University, the Moorhead campus of Minnesota State University, and Concordia College. Young rural North Dakotans are drawn to Fargo because of its urban feel, and many remain after college so they can stay in a city without being as far away from home as the next big city, Minneapolis.

Related Topics:
North Dakota State University - Minnesota State University - Concordia College - Minneapolis

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