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I am just wondering why Fargo seem suprised their town is having population decling according to the Census Bureau.
It seems to be stuck at 90,000 people. While West Fargo and Moorhead are growing.
This doesnt suprised me. West Fargo has lots of large families, it has lots of new devolopment. Moorhead has lots of new devolopment, Minnesota has the edge of much lower property taxes.
Overall, Fargo (as of last year) always seemed to have lots of "for-rent" signs on apartment buildings, it also in the areas just adjacent to downtown tended to have alot of homes for sale signs also. It seemed like alot of the eastern neighborhoods were having population decling, while the western neighborhoods which have lots of apartment buildings tended (as of late year) to have for rent signs in the front.
Overall, I am not suprised Fargo's population is around 90,000 and really not going anywhere according to the census bureau while adjacent areas are having a big population increase.
Although West Fargo and Moorhead are clearly growing, Fargo still has more new developments. Here's the data for the number of building permits for single family homes and twin homes in the three cities for the last two years.
__________2005____2006
Fargo............493.......489
Moorhead......320.......329
West Fargo....440.......246
Fargo also has more apartment buildings being built.
North Dakota is still at a major disadvantage because of property tax rates even if the budget surpluses continue they still will have very high property tax bases because Fargo has a rather low property tax base compared to other cities so the rate has to be high. Obviously, its not that big of a disadvantage because West Fargo is growing faster then Moorhead but none the less Fargo is the slowest growing out of the larger three in the state Grand Forks and Bismarck are all growing faster.
Bismarck doesnt have to worry about competing with another state on property tax rates and they have the strongest economy in the state outside of Williston though and Grand Forks they have such high demand to live there because University of North Dakota is considered a very highly regarded university and has many people migrate there from out of state. Fargo on the other hand has many suburbs to choose from is right next to a state with much lower property taxes had lots of apartment vacancies so it makes sense its population according to the census is stagnant.
Not that a city that seems to be stuck according to the Census bureau at around 90,000 people is bad thing. Its just Fargo isnt growing, its not a problem its just Fargo is no more in line with the rest of the state as the rest has been experiencing population decline for decades.
Anyway, the amount of rent and for sale signs in Fargo is very high. It doesnt matter how many housing or apartment permits they really issue if the vacancy rates are very high in Fargo.
The whole time I was there nearly every apartment I would go by would for rent signs because of the high vacancy rates which is substancial considering how much of Fargo is apartments and they also had quite a few homes that semmed vacant close to downtown.
Overall, the future of the Fargo/Moorhead population growth looks to be in Castleton, West Fargo, Dilworth, Hawley, Moorhead not Fargo. Fargo will still be a center of the region just not for population growth.
Anyway, the amount of rent and for sale signs in Fargo is very high. It doesnt matter how many housing or apartment permits they really issue if the vacancy rates are very high in Fargo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwmn
Fargo also has more apartment buildings being built.
jwmn hit the nail on the head - Fargo has a lot more apartment buildings than WF, Moorhead, or Dilworth.
MattDen do you have any data on apartment vacancies or are you simply operating on the "I saw signs" data? Also - are you sure you weren't looking at "for rent" signs during the summer? Finally, what is your goal with this thread? Bash Fargo? Were you mistreated when you lived here?
Nope, Fargo has a high quality of living. While I admit I didnt think people were friendly, me trying to be unbiased other then the weather its a nice place. Affordable, rather clean, extremely low violent crime rate, high concentration of retail amenities, well-planned, steady-small growth economy, decent infrastructure, decent to good parks and recreation system, very good coffehouses.
All and all, I would recommend Fargo for relocation to people just as long as they had friends before they moved up there and avoided some of the eastern neighborhoods near downtown because they are very unappealing and run-down (all of Fargo is very, very low violent crime so no where is that an issue) and they would also have to not mind mosquitos and cold!
However when I lived in Fargo I saw lots of vacancies on apartment buildings year-round, it has alot commercial vacancies also around the city especially on the eastside. It just seemed as though the same blight many midwestern cities has includes Fargo and more to extent then Sioux Falls hence Fargo's population decline.
But I dont see bringing up the point that Fargo seems stuck at 90,000 people is negative, just because Fargo is not growing like Grand Forks or Bismarck isnt negative. It doesnt impact the people's day to day lives, it just means that parts of the city are declining bit by bit or at least they were when I left last year I was there for two years and it seemed like the increasing housing and commercial vacancies were taking its toll of some of the eastern neighborhoods and apartment vacancy must have been very high with all the for rent signs.
I bought a house near 6th ave and 2nd St for less 100k, and it's split into two apartments. My wife and I can walk to work, I rent out the top, and I'm near great nightlife and Meritcare and parks. I love my location, I couldn't fanthom living in W. Fargo. However, I guess my lifestyle is a lot different than the typical American.
Besides, I see downtown on an upswing: the 300 block of Broadway is about to blow up.
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