HORACE, N.D. — The U.
S. Census Bureau defines a small town as an incorporated entity with a population of 5,000 or less. For 150 years, Horace reveled in its status as a quintessential American small town.
Even as it has transitioned from dusty outpost to Fargo bedroom community over the last 30 years, events like Horace's annual Bean Days celebration every August have summoned the community's storybook, small town feel, complete with a Main Street parade past the grain elevator, a "Make Something Out of Beans" contest, and street dance between Big Erv's Bar and the fire hall. While Bean Days will likely live on, new population numbers released by the U.S.
Census Bureau last month show that Horace officially outgrew its small town status in 2023, and projections show it will continue to expand in breathtaking fashion over the next decade. Horace started 2023 with 4,269 people and proceeded to grow by 1,374 people, or over 32%, to reach a population of 5,643 by year's end, according to the most recent Census Bureau data. To put that in perspective, Fargo, a city of over 130,000, added just 1,744 residents last year, a growth rate of about 1.
3%. Horace's population count in the 2020 census was 3,249. In three years that number shot up roughly 75%.
"It's really phenomenal," said Kevin Iverson, who's been managing North Dakota's Census data from the Department of Commerce for the last 12 years. "I haven't seen a community with 76% growth in three years — other than maybe a fe.
