Greater Grand Forks


[Image:Grandforks-sorlie.jpg|thumb|right|The Sorlie bridge carries DeMers Avenue between Grand Forks and East Grand Forks.]
The Greater Grand Forks, as defined by the Census Bureau as comprising all of Grand Forks County in North Dakota and Polk County in Minnesota, anchored by the twin cities of Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 104,362 and was estimated to be 104,184 in 2024.
The metropolitan area is also sometimes called The Forks. Several years ago, local promoters attempted to "brand" the metropolitan area as The Grand Cities. This name has not found widespread use in the area, although several buildings and organizations now bear the "Grand Cities" title. Occasionally, the city of Grand Forks uses the nickname "The Sunflake City."

Counties

Grand Forks

Communities

Incorporated Places

Grand Forks, ND

Census-designated places

Township Places

Unincorporated places

Demographics

Population by decade


Colors=
id:lightgrey value:gray
id:darkgrey value:gray
id:sfondo value:rgb
id:barra value:rgb
id:darkblue value:rgb
ImageSize = width:900 height:450
PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:105656
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical
AlignBars = late
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:26415 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:13207 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo
BarData=
bar:1880 text:1880
bar:1890 text:1890
bar:1900 text:1900
bar:1910 text:1910
bar:1920 text:1920
bar:1930 text:1930
bar:1940 text:1940
bar:1950 text:1950
bar:1960 text:1960
bar:1970 text:1970
bar:1980 text:1980
bar:1990 text:1990
bar:1995 text:1995
bar:2000 text:2000
bar:2010 text:2010
bar:2020 text:2020
bar:2024 text:present
PlotData=
color:barra width:25 align:left
bar:1880 from: 0 till:17681
bar:1890 from: 0 till:48549
bar:1900 from: 0 till:59888
bar:1910 from: 0 till:63889
bar:1920 from: 0 till:65885
bar:1930 from: 0 till:67975
bar:1940 from: 0 till:72252
bar:1950 from: 0 till:75348
bar:1960 from: 0 till:84859
bar:1970 from: 0 till:95537
bar:1980 from: 0 till:100944
bar:1990 from: 0 till:103181
bar:1995 from: 0 till:105650 color:blue
bar:2000 from: 0 till:97478
bar:2010 from: 0 till:98461
bar:2020 from: 0 till:104362
bar:2024 from: 0 till:104184 color:darkblue
PlotData=
bar:1880 at:17681 fontsize:M text:17,681 shift:
bar:1890 at:48549 fontsize:M text:48,549 shift:
bar:1900 at:59888 fontsize:M text:59,888 shift:
bar:1910 at:63889 fontsize:M text:63,889 shift:
bar:1920 at:65885 fontsize:M text:65,885 shift:
bar:1930 at:67975 fontsize:M text:67,975 shift:
bar:1940 at:72252 fontsize:M text:72,252 shift:
bar:1950 at:75348 fontsize:M text:75,348 shift:
bar:1960 at:84859 fontsize:M text:84,859 shift:
bar:1970 at:95537 fontsize:M text:95,537 shift:
bar:1980 at:100944 fontsize:M text:100,944 shift:
bar:1990 at:103181 fontsize:M text:103,181 shift:
bar:1995 at:105650 fontsize:M text:105,650 shift:
bar:2000 at:97478 fontsize:M text:97,478 shift:
bar:2010 at:98461 fontsize:M text:98,461 shift:
bar:2020 at:104362 fontsize:M text:104,362 shift:
bar:2024 at:104184 fontsize:M text:104,184 shift:
TextData=
fontsize:S pos:
text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 104,362 people, 43,192 households, and 24,038 families residing in the MSA. The population density was. There were 48,051 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the MSA was 83.64% White, 3.87% African American, 2.17% Native American, 2.54% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.55% from some other races and 6.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.42% of the population.

Age

  • Under 5 years: 6.3%
  • 5–9 years: 5.5%
  • 10–14 years: 6.1%
  • 15–19 years: 9.6%
  • 20–24 years: 13.3%
  • 25–34 years: 12.7%
  • 35–44 years: 11.3%
  • 45–54 years: 13.6%
  • 55–59 years: 5.4%
  • 60–64 years: 4.2%
  • 65–74 years: 5.6%
  • 75–84 years: 4.5%
  • 85 years and over: 2.0%
  • Median age: 31.8 years

Ancestry

According to the 2006–2008 American Community Survey, the top ten European ancestry groups were the following:

Language spoken at home

Education

K-12

Public schools

The Grand Forks Public Schools system serves Grand Forks and Grand Forks Air Force Base. The district consists of 12 elementary schools, four middle schools, two high schools, an alternative high school, an adult learning center, and a Head Start program.
The East Grand Forks School District serves East Grand Forks and the surrounding rural areas. The district consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.
The Crookston School District 593 serves Crookston and the surrounding rural areas. The district consists of two elementary schools and a high school.

Private schools

In Grand Forks, St. Michael's Catholic Church and Holy Family Catholic Church both have Catholic elementary schools. There are no Catholic middle or high schools in Grand Forks, but East Grand Forks is home to Sacred Heart Catholic Church's school, which educates from kindergarten through the 12th grade. East Grand Forks is also home to Riverside Christian School, a nondenominational elementary school.

Higher education

''*also has a campus in Thief River Falls, Minnesota''

Media

''See Media in Grand Forks, North Dakota for a list of newspapers, television stations, and radio stations''

Print

The major daily newspaper is the Grand Forks Herald. The only other daily newspaper in the area is the Crookston Daily Times of Crookston. The Exponent of East Grand Forks is a weekly newspaper. The Dakota Student is a campus newspaper published twice a week by students of the University of North Dakota. There are also several other weekly newspapers in the area including the Hillsboro Banner.

Television

The metropolitan area receives all major broadcast networks over the air, along with cable, and satellite television. The major cable television company is Midcontinent Communications.
The only broadcast stations based in the metro area are WDAZ-TV 8 and KCPM 27. KVLY-TV and KRDK-TV both have news bureaus in Grand Forks, though the stations are based in Fargo.
Local TV stations include:

Radio

There are several radio stations available in the area. All of the commercial radio stations in Grand Forks are owned by either Clear Channel Communications or Leighton Broadcasting. The area is also served by stations of North Dakota Public Radio and Minnesota Public Radio. Several religious organizations have Christian radio stations throughout the area.