City of Moorhead

As a home to 42,581 residents (MN Demographer Estimate 2016), Moorhead is the largest city in northwest Minnesota, located in Clay County along the Red River. The city of Moorhead is part of a metropolitan area consisting of Dilworth, MN, Fargo, ND and West Fargo, ND. As a whole, the metropolitan area is home to over 200,000 people. Since Moorhead is located in a larger metropolitan area, residents of the city notice a small town feel while still remaining in a large area with so much to offer. We brand ourselves as the “hometown” within the metro and our residents are very proud of their close-knit neighborhoods. Moorhead is clearly an education community, with Minnesota State University Moorhead, Concordia College, MState and Rasmussen College.

River Corridor/Active Living: Moorhead has utilized the riverfront acquired for flood control to expand and connect walking and biking trails, increasing connectivity and promoting an active lifestyle for residents and visitors. The city has leveraged Minnesota Legacy Fund grants and other outside funding to complete connected bikeways and pedestrian trails along the river corridor. Our extensive trail system is one of the many reasons Millennial Personal Finance named Moorhead one of the “Best Cities for Outdoor Lovers” in a 2017 report.

We are excited about an expansion of the Moorhead Youth Hockey Arena underway, thanks in large part to a major donation from locally grown NHL player,
Matt Cullen, and his family. A major infrastructure construction project began last summer. This three-year, $66 million construction project will provide separation of train and auto traffic, which will improve traffic safety and emergency response time. As Mayor Del Rae Williams indicates “it will be inconvenient for drivers during construction, but will be worth it in the end.”

In order to meet demand for urban living in Moorhead, the city council set a goal of “500 in 5” – the development of 500 additional downtown housing units in the next five years. These housing units are to fit the needs of not only the millennial generation, but also empty nesters, people with vacation homes, and households of all kinds that are excited about downtown, city living. With more than 100 downtown units underway in 2018, we are off to a great start!

Community leaders also established an initiative known as Downtown Moorhead Inc. (DMI) in February 2018. DMI is all about developing downtown Moorhead into a vibrant, active, shopping, dining, working, and living environment. They’ve taken every opportunity to ensure developers and businesses know about the great opportunities to be part of expanding and improving downtown Moorhead.