Fargo, North Dakota population is 136,275 as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate), ranking #215 nationally and #1 in North Dakota. Cost of living runs 9.1% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $86,138/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
At a glance.
2025 population
136,275
+1,088 in the last year
Top 2% of 19,483 U.S. cities
Census Vintage 2025
Cost of living
RPP 90.9
−9.1% vs US
Fargo, ND-MN metro · BEA 2024
Family-of-4 budget
$86,138/yr
+7.5% vs US
Modeled 2025 · federal sources
Median HH income
$66,998
−14% vs US
ACS 2020–2024 5-yr
Median home value
$281,900
−7.1% vs US
ACS 2020–2024 5-yr
2-BR fair-market rent
$1,112/mo
HUD FY2026 · 40th pct
Avg July high
82°F
NOAA 1991–2020
Gigabit broadband
93%
ISP-reported, FCC BDC
Explore Fargo, ND demographics, including age, race and ethnicity, households, origins, language, and education.
How many people live in Fargo?
136,275 people live in Fargo as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025), the #215 largest U.S. city.
How big is Fargo?
Fargo covers 51.9 square miles of land and 0.0 square miles of water. Its population density is about 2,626 residents per square mile of land. Compare U.S. cities by land area →
Source detail: 2025 population
2025 population
Source agency
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
Dataset
Census PEP
Vintage / period
Vintage 2025 (Jul 1, 2025)
Native geography
Census PEP subcounty place records for the included city universe.
Transformation
Copied from POPESTIMATE2025, joined by Census GEOID, and used for ranks, filters, and city pages.
Known limit: Annual estimate, not a decennial count; each new PEP vintage can revise the prior series.
Population grew 8.2% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 125,951 → 2025: 136,275 (+8.2%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
125,951
April 1, 2020
2020
125,989
July 1, 2020
2021
129,472
July 1, 2021
2022
131,776
July 1, 2022
2023
133,822
July 1, 2023
2024
135,187
July 1, 2024
2025
136,275
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 17.6% from the July 2010 estimate to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
Fargo is the #215 largest of 19,483 U.S. cities and #1 in North Dakota.
▸Show the analyst detail (9 rows)
Measure
Value
Note
2020 base
125,951
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+10,324
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+8.2%
within V2025 only
1-yr change
+1,088
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+0.8%
within V2025 only
Density
2,626
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
51.9
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#215
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#1
of 355 in North Dakota
What is the median household income in Fargo?
Median household income is 14% below the U.S. median ($66,998 vs $77,719); 12.9% live in poverty — 0.4 points above the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Median household income$66,998
US
Fargo: $66,998 — 14% below the US median of $77,719.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS income data
Fargo
$66,998
United States
$77,719
Income and poverty estimates for Fargo from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
66,998-13.8% vs US
±2,732
Per capita income
42,734-1.3% vs US
±1,371
Population in poverty
12.9%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 7% below the U.S. median ($281,900 vs $303,400); median rent is 30% below ($946 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio (4.2×) is roughly in line with the U.S. median (3.9×).
Median home value$281,900
US
Fargo: $281,900 — 7% below the US median of $303,400.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS home-value data
HUD 2-BR fair-market rent$1,112/mo
US
Fargo: $1,112/mo — 3% above the US median of $1,077/mo.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with a HUD Fair Market Rent
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Fargo. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
2.3%
Fargo (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
80,635
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
9.8%-29.8% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Fargo sits in Cass County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Cass County
11.0%
$77,791
2.2%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Fargo's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
22,662
$1,376 / wk
#2
Retail trade (44-45)
12,676
$776 / wk
#3
Manufacturing (31-33)
10,956
$1,385 / wk
#4
Accommodation and food services (72)
10,521
$498 / wk
#5
Construction (23)
9,394
$1,503 / wk
What workers earn in the Fargo, ND-MN metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). See methodology §25.
Registered Nurses is the largest tracked occupation in the Fargo, ND-MN metro (4,790 jobs, median $82,120/yr).
▸Show all 12 occupations
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Fast Food and Counter Workers
4,090
$30,950
$14.88
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
3,810
$45,690
$21.97
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
3,130
$37,910
$18.23
Customer Service Representatives
2,790
$40,900
$19.66
Cashiers
2,770
$33,420
$16.07
Office Clerks, General
2,590
$49,060
$23.59
Registered Nurses · benchmark
4,790
$82,120
$39.48
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
4,160
$35,860
$17.24
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
3,590
$96,410
$46.35
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
3,570
$58,900
$28.32
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run 9.1% below the U.S. average (RPP 90.9); utilities run 22.7% below (RPP 77.3) — the metro's utility affordability is the main driver.
Cost of living (RPP, all items)RPP 90.9
US
Fargo's cost of living runs 9.1% below the U.S. average (RPP 90.9 vs 100).
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of metro/non-metro areas with a BEA price parity
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 90.9
−9.1% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Fargo, ND-MN metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,112/mo
FY2026 · Fargo, ND-MN MSA
State income tax (top marginal rate)
2.50%
3 brackets · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$7,178/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$3,768/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in North Dakota · no modeled local income tax
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
9.5% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Other Indo-European is the most-spoken language at home other than English (2.0% of residents 5+).
A quick read on Fargo's residents — nativity and languages spoken at home shown above, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. The full demographic breakdown (age, race and ethnicity, household types, and educational attainment, each with its margin of error) lives on the demographics page.
These are K-12 public school districts. Higher education (colleges and universities) is not represented in this dataset.
Public school districts serving Fargo, from the NCES EDGE Geographic Relationship Files (GRF25, 2024–25 school year boundaries). The join is many-to-many — large cities often span multiple districts, and one district often serves multiple cities. Sorted primary district first. See methodology §12 for the consolidated-city fallback and Milford CT special case.
Source: NCES EDGE GRF25 · school year 2024–25 · methodology →
What is the climate like in Fargo?
Hottest month: July (82°F avg high). Coldest: January (0°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 24.3 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Fargo from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Natural-hazard exposure for Fargo from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Cass County
82.4
Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather 99.6 Very High · Strong Wind 98.3 Very High · Hail 96.8 Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0 · methodology →
How fast is home internet in Fargo?
15 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 93% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Fargo from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
15 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
14
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
93.3%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
93.3%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
90,604
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Fargo sits at state rank #1 among 355 cities in North Dakota. Nearby in the state ranking:
Just above in the profiled set: Dayton, OH · #214 · 136,688 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Pasadena, CA · #216 · 135,804 residents.
Quick travel facts for Fargo
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Hector International Airport(FAR) · 4 mi 6 km from city centroid
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Frequently asked questions about Fargo.
How many people live in Fargo, ND?
Fargo has 136,275 residents as of July 1, 2025, making it the #215 largest city in the United States and #1 in North Dakota. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
Is Fargo growing or shrinking?
Fargo has grown 8.2% since the April 2020 census baseline, adding 10,324 residents, including a 0.8% increase from 2024 to 2025. Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
Fargo covers 51.9 square miles of land, with a population density of about 2,626 residents per square mile. Source: Census Gazetteer 2025.
What is the median household income in Fargo?
$66,998, about 14% below the U.S. median. Source: ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024.
SourceU.S. Census · PEP
VintageV2025
Reference2025-07-01
Place typeIncorporated place
GEOID3825700
Last build2026-08-27
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Fargo is 3825700. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page. The headline population value above includes a source-detail disclosure with publisher, dataset, vintage, native geography, transformation, and caveat.
