How it works
A random city in North Dakota is usually a very small one: of the 355 cities in the Census Bureau's 2025 estimates, 142 have under 100 people. Any of them can come up beside Fargo.
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Many small cities and four large ones
Half of the 355 have 157 people or fewer, and nine have under ten. Only 51 have 1,000 or more. Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks and Minot together hold just over half of everyone who lives in a North Dakota city.
Fifty-three counties and nine misleading names
Every county has a city: Billings County has only Medora and Oliver County only Center. Nine cities are named like a county they are not in. Cavalier is in Pembina County and Hettinger in Adams County; Towner is in McHenry County, while McHenry is in Foster County.
- Hensel, in Pembina County, is legally Canton City; road signs and its post office say Hensel, and so does the card.
- Horace, in Cass County, more than doubled between 2020 and 2025, to 7,001 people.
Questions and answers
How many cities are in North Dakota?
North Dakota has 355 incorporated cities, and every one has a card. Nine have 10,000 people or more, and only Fargo has 100,000.
What is the difference between a city and a town in North Dakota?
The state has no towns or villages: every incorporated community is a city, whatever its size. Ruso, the smallest, is a city just as Fargo is.
What is the smallest city in North Dakota?
Ruso, in McLean County, with four people in the 2025 estimates. Perth in Towner County has six, and Calio, Hannah, Kief and Loma have seven each.
What are the largest cities in North Dakota?
Fargo, with 136,275 people, then Bismarck, the capital, with 77,963, Grand Forks with 60,365, Minot with 47,308 and West Fargo with 41,175.