FARGO – 2010 Census results for North Dakota communities were unveiled today, showing Fargo continues its reign as the state’s most populous city.

Even more important for the state, though, Fargo has become the first city to top 100,000 residents. The Census reported more than 105,500 people living in Fargo last year.

Cass County also saw major gains – up 21 percent to nearly 150,000 residents.

Elsewhere in the state, counties in the Oil Patch surprisingly made little headway in adding residents. Areas in northwestern North Dakota have been a hotbed of business activity in recent years, but that hasn’t translated into more people, according to the Census.

Meanwhile, rural counties statewide tended to lose population, sometimes in great numbers. For example, Sheridan County, north of Bismarck, lost the most share of its residents, down more than 22 percent to a population of barely 1,320 people.

Here are the top 20 most populous cities in North Dakota and how much they grew over the past decade, according to the 2010 Census:

1. Fargo – 105,549 / +16.5 percent
2. Bismarck – 61,272  / +10.3 percent
3. Grand Forks – 52,838 / +7.1 percent
4. Minot – 40,888 / +11.8 percent
5. West Fargo – 25,830 / +72.9 percent
6. Mandan – 18,331 / +9.6 percent
7. Dickinson – 17,787 / +11.1 percent
8. Jamestown – 15,427  / -0.6 percent
9. Williston - 14,716  / +17.6 percent
10. Wahpeton – 7,766 / -9.6 percent
11. Devils Lake – 7,141 / -1.1 percent
12. Valley City – 6,585 / -3.5 percent
13. Grafton – 4,284 / -5.1 percent
14. Beulah – 3,121 / -1 percent
    
15. Rugby – 2,876 / -2.1 percent
16. Horace – 2,430 / +165.6 percent
    
17. Hazen – 2,411 / -1.9 percent
    
18. Lincoln – 2,406 / +39.1 percent
    
19. Casselton – 2,329 / +25.6 percent
    
20. Bottineau – 2,211 / -5.4 percent

All the data will be available in a user-friendly format tomorrow on the Census Bureau’s American FactFinder.

In the mean time, we have plenty of coverage for you on INFORUM and have compiled even more analysis and information for tomorrow’s edition of The Forum.