Isn’t West Fargo Just More Fargo?

Survey site 24/7 Wall St. has proclaimed West Fargo to be "The Best City To Live In" in North Dakota.  Take a peek at the impressive stats that West Fargo brings to the table- find the story here. 

The number of people living in West Fargo has increased over 27% in just the last five years!  That's about 8 times the national growth numbers. So that alone is pretty spiffy.  Their unemployment rate is just 1.5%.  Incredible!  Even their poverty rate is nearly half the national rate.  Seems the booming community of West Fargo has everything going for it. Just one thing confuses me a bit.

Isn't West Fargo just more Fargo?

This was a question I had years ago when Mandan lost it's place as the fifth most populated city in North Dakota. Of course, they lost their spot to West Fargo.  If you take a look at this 2020 city population estimate, West Fargo has left Mandan in the dust and will probably have twice Mandan's population in just a few years. Seems Williston's population has also surpassed Mandan's.  We'll see what the 2020 census has to say about that.

My point is- there is at least a river separating Bismarck and Mandan. Plus, Bismarck and Mandan are very, very different cities. I'm sure Fargo is different from Moorhead and Grand Forks smells better than East Grand Forks. (I know North Dakota vs Minnesota but still) If your driving through Fargo and you cross a street, magically you're in West Fargo.

Arguably just more Fargo. Don't ya think?

Here's the history of West Fargo and Southwest Fargo (also a real thing).  If you want to dive deeper.  Click here.