West Fargo is a city in Cass County, North Dakota in the United States. The population is 21,508 at the 2006 census, making it the fifth largest city in North Dakota. West Fargo is the state of North Dakota's fastest growing major city. The city is usually considered to be a suburb of nearby Fargo. West Fargo was founded in 1926.
As of the census of 2000, there were 14,940 people, 5,771 households, and 4,091 families residing in the city. The population density was 791.3/km² (2,049.2/mi²). There were 5,968 housing units at an average density of 316.1/km² (818.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.40% White, 0.42% African American, 1.04% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.41% of the population.
The top 6 ancestry groups in the city are German (47.9%), Norwegian (39.7%), Irish (8.3%), Swedish (7.2%), French (5.2%), English (4.8%).
There were 5,771 households out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.2% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $44,542, and the median income for a family was $51,765. Males had a median income of $32,105 versus $22,148 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,368. About 4.7% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.8% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.
The city of West Fargo is served by West Fargo Public Schools. The system operates the West Fargo Kindergarten Center, Eastwood Elementary School, L. E. Berger Elementary School, Harwood Elementary, Horace Elementary, South Elementary School, Westside Elementary School, Cheney Middle School, and West Fargo High School. Another school, Sheyenne 9th Grade Center, opened August 27th, 2007 as a response to the district's growing enrollment and overcrowding at West Fargo High School. 2007 marks the first year the freshmen have been educated outside the High School since 1993. The Sheyenne 9th Grade Center will serve as a second high school for West Fargo in the next two years, as it was designed with the future needs of the district in mind. Aurora Elementary School also opened for the 2007-2008 school year. Aurora is located in the Eagle Run development in southern West Fargo.
The West Fargo School District also serves much of southwestern Fargo, the suburb of Reile's Acres, and the communities of Horace and Harwood, giving both towns their own elementary schools (Horace Elementary and Harwood Elementary).