JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Additional houses are going up in a northwest Minot neighborhood, with construction activity occurring Wednesday, May 13.

Minot’s population showed further signs of stabilizing in the U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Thursday, May 14.

The latest estimate listed 47,308 residents for the year ended July 1, 2025, up by 31 residents from the previous year.

Minot saw its population drop during the post-pandemic years that followed the 2020 official census of 48,387. After falling to 47,297 in the 2023 estimates, the population stabilized at 47,277 in 2024 and appeared to turn the corner last year, showing the first increase since 2020.

Although latest population figures are estimates and not official counts, Minot’s neighbors, Burlington and Surrey, appear to have grown moderately since 2020.

The Census Bureau estimated Surrey’s population at 1,450 in July 2025, up from 1,432 in 2024 and a 7.25% increase from the 2020 census of 1,352.

Burlington’s July 2025 estimate is 1,350, up from 1,330 in 2024 and 1,288 in 2020, for a 4.8% growth rate over the five years.

The state’s largest cities and the far northwestern corner of the state in the heart of the current Bakken oil activity are leading North Dakota’s growth, according to the census estimates.

Watford City is estimated to have reached 6,378 residents as of last July, up from 6,223 in 2024 and 6,217 in the 2020 census. Williston is estimated at 29,522 residents, up from 28,822 in 2024, which had been down from 29,155 in 2020. Ray also recorded growth, from 746 residents in 2024 to 768 in 2025, both up from 731 in 2020.

Horace, in the Fargo area, continued its explosive growth, up 12.7% between 2024 and 2025. The small community boomed from a population of 3,206 in 2020 to 7,001 in the latest estimates.

Fargo experienced the largest numerical change, with its estimate increasing from 135,187 to 136,275 between 2024 and 2025. That is up from the 2020 Census of 125,951 and reflects a growth rate of 7.33% for the five years. West Fargo’s 2025 estimate is 41,175, up from the 2024 estimate of 40,672 and from 38,633 in 2020.

Bismarck, with a 2020 census of 73,625, grew from 77,284 in 2024 to 77,963 in 2025. Grand Forks, with a 2020 census of 59,173, grew from 59,760 in 2024 to 60,365 in 2025, according to the estimates.

Estimates for some area communities and their change since 2024 include:

– Bottineau, 2,152, down 22

– Harvey, 1,532, down 25

– Kenmare, 911, down 3

– Mohall, 706, up six

– New Town, 2,715, down 20

– Parshall, 895, down six

– Rugby, 2,412, down 26

– Stanley, 2,181, down 34

– Velva, 1,046, down six.