The Fargo-Moorhead community is ranked among the best places in the country to live, work, attend school and conduct business.

• AARP named Fargo 5th Healthiest Place to Live and Retire
• Forbes.com named Fargo-Moorhead the fourth least expensive place to live well in the US.
• Fargo Moorhead ranks third in the "Best US Cities for Relocating Families".
• Expansion Management Magazine gave Fargo-Moorhead a "Five Star Community" rating, the highest level in its Quality of Life Quotient. Components included affordable housing, available workforce, standard of living, education levels, educational facilities, unemployment rates and peace of mind.
• North Dakota is ranked among the top nine states as having the cleanest air in the nation.
• Employment Review magazine and its affiliate, BestJobsUSA.com, ranked Fargo-Moorhead the seventh-best place to live and work in America. The publication stated, "An excellent unemployment rate, adverse work force, and low cost of living, reasonable housing costs and outstanding educational opportunities make the Fargo-Moorhead area an ideal choice for both individuals seeking relocation and businesses that are ready to move."

City of Fargo
City of West Fargo
City of Moorhead
City of Hawley
City of Barnesville
City of Casselton

Cost of Living
You can live well here for less. Cited as one of the lowest-cost places to live in the nation by ACCRA, the Fargo-Moorhead area offers affordable housing, grocery, transportation and utility costs, all of which are below the national average.

Health Care
Consistently ranked among the healthiest, safest, least-stressful states in national surveys, Fargo-Moorhead is home to many of the best health care facilities and programs between the Mayo Clinic (289 miles away in Rochester, MN) and the West Coast.

Dakota Clinic - Innovis Health
MeritCare Health System
Heartland Healthcare Network
Prairie St. John's
Hospice of the Red River Valley
Family Health Care
SCCI

Business Climate
With over 11,900 business establishments and over 11,651 self-employed individuals, Fargo-Moorhead's business climate continues to thrive and grow. In addition, the Fargo Moorhead metropolitan population has increased by an average of 1.9% annually over the past decade.

Fargo-Moorhead's employment by industry is very diversified with health care and education holding the top employment sector (14%), followed by retail trade (12.9%), government (12.7%) and leisure and hospitality (10.5%).

Fargo-Moorhead is home to a growing number of innovative technology and biomedical companies, attracted to the region for many reasons:

• Labor costs are among the most competitive in the nation, partly as a result of extremely low absenteeism and turnover rates;
• Some of the most affordable utilities in the country;
• Relatively low facility and construction costs;
• A favorable tax climate that promotes growth and opportunity;
• Advanced telecommunication infrastructure, vast energy reserves and readily available water supplies.

In addition the Fargo-Moorhead area has won several praises for its business climate

• Expansion Management Magazine designated Fargo-Moorhead as one of "America's Top Business Opportunity Metros for 2005".
• Forbes.com named Fargo-Moorhead the fourth best small metro area to jump start a business or career.
• In 2004, Forbes magazine ranked Fargo-Moorhead the second-best small city in the entire country for business and careers.
• Money magazine ranked Fargo-Moorhead in the top-ten list of cities in the nation to start a business or get a job.