You have questions. We have answers.

Sugar and Spuds and everything nice! Moorhead is a community of 44,500 within a metro area of nearly 250,000. This makes us a great place for new residents looking for a hometown feel with access to all the city conveniences. We are headquarters to national corporations like American Crystal Sugar, yet small enough to have just one public high school to cheer for (Go Spuds!). Education is really what sets Moorhead apart—early education, top-notch public and private K-12, dynamic community education and top-rated higher education. Wow.

Sports and rec
Check out the bike trails in the summer, cross-country skiing in the winter, and fitness programs year-round. The Red River has trails connecting to several parks – more than 40 neighborhood and regional parks in all. Plus, there are bridges just for bikes and walkers at different places along the river that also connect to Fargo parks. Golf, swim, skate, or hang out with your pooch at the dog parks. Opportunities are really endless. Follow the Moorhead High Spuds, MSUM Dragons, or Concordia Cobbers on a court, field, or rink.

Check out Moorhead's many recreation programs and our Parks and Recreation map.

Sports and recreation programs start in pre-school at the neighborhood level. There are active associations for soccer, baseball, softball, and other activities. Pick-up hockey games are common at any of the dozen outdoor neighborhood rinks in the winter, and kids can get ice time in at hockey and figure skating camps in the summer at the Sports Center or Moorhead Youth Hockey Arena.

Arts and culture
Minnesota State University Moorhead and Concordia College bring world-renowned performers and speakers to their campuses, plus the Bluestem Center for the Arts is located in Moorhead. Bluestem is home to the Trollwood Performing Arts School – a unique youth development organization providing high quality performing arts education, exceptional community entertainment, and an appreciation for diversity. Bluestem's outdoor amphitheater along the Red River in south Moorhead also hosts concerts and events of national acclaim. Sheryl Crow, Garrison Keillor, Willie Nelson and Robert Plant are some of the performers who have graced this stage. Visual arts offerings also include the Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center and the Rourke Art Museum, which house collections of local artifacts, Midwestern exhibits and artists of international distinction.

And more nearby
You've probably heard of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes—there are dozens of them within 30 to 60 miles of Moorhead. Then there's the Fargodome, the Red Hawks Stadium, and the Plains Art Museum. Moorhead and our surrounding metro area have a lot to offer.

The Moorhead Senior Center at the Hjemkomst Center offers social, educational, and recreational programs for people 55 and older on weekdays, with occasional evening and weekend programs.

Moorhead has some of the best fine dining restaurants in the FM area including Rustica, Sol Ave. Kitchen and many others. You don't have to live in Moorhead very long before you're almost certain to see your friends or neighbors at one of the Dairy Queens or The Freez — they are neighborhood gathering places. Plus, Moorhead has no sales tax on clothing or shoes. And should you need to stop at City Hall, it's attached to the Moorhead Center Mall.

Moorhead's public school system includes five elementary schools (K-Grade 5), one middle school (Grades 6-8), and one high school (Grades 9-12), and a new Alternative Learning Center. Here are the boundaries for the elementary schools. Moorhead Area Public Schools offers Spanish immersion education beginning in kindergarten. The Spanish immersion program is currently located at Ellen Hopkins Elementary School.

There are also private school options in Moorhead, St. Joseph's Catholic School (K-Grade 6), Park Christian (K-Grade 12), and Red River Valley Academy (preschool-Grade 6).

Sanford Health offers an integrated healthcare system, including a medical campus in south Moorhead. Sanford Hospital in Fargo has been named a top 100 hospital nationally and a Top 100 Heart Hospital. Essentia Health constructed a new clinic in south Moorhead in 2010 and offers a multispecialty hospital and clinic that serves Moorhead located in south Fargo. The metro area is also served by a Veteran's Administration Hospital.

Moorhead and the surrounding area enjoy low crime rates compared to communities of similar size in other parts of the country. The Moorhead Police Department operates with an integrated community policing philosophy and the latest technology. Several partnerships contribute to this success, including innovative programs like the Moorhead Police Volunteer program, School Resource Officers and the Police Cadet Program.

MATBUS provides mass transit for the general public with more than 20 fixed routes throughout the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo-Dilworth metro area, operating Monday through Saturday. There are additional services for seniors and persons who are unable to ride the MATBUS fixed route system. Free school bus service is available to students living one mile or more from their assigned public school.

Several ride-hailing services – including Lyft and Uber – also operate in Moorhead along with traditional taxi services.

Hector International Airport (located in Fargo) is serviced by Delta, United, American, Frontier and Allegiant. There is non-stop service to Minneapolis, Dallas, Denver, Chicago and seven other cities. In addition to the commercial airport, Moorhead Municipal Airport-Florence Klingensmith Field, a general aviation airport with public and private hangar options, is located just six miles east of the City. Hangar space is available for rent.

Unlike many communities in our metro area, Moorhead's major utilities are publicly owned. Water and electricity are managed by Moorhead Public Service (MPS), and trash and recycling are direct municipal services. All are coordinated on one monthly utility bill. And, we've got some bragging rights: Moorhead's water has been voted "Best in Glass" by the Minnesota Section of the American Water Works Association—twice in recent competitions, and in 2013, the American Public Power Association awarded MPS "Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3®)," a distinction awarded to less than 10 percent of public power utilities nationwide.

You may have heard news of floods on the Red River affecting Moorhead and Fargo, and if you've lived in the area for a while, you may have even volunteered in our past flood efforts. Moorhead's flood risk has been reduced to an all-time low due to the significant investments financed by the City and the State of Minnesota. Flood insurance is not required for any residential building lot in any of the new construction subdivisions in Moorhead; all residential building lots in Moorhead are flood-protected.

Yes. There is curbside pickup biweekly for single-family homes and drop-off locations for apartment residents to recycle. Recycling containers are available at City Hall. As of 2023, glass is no longer permissible in Moorhead recycling containers.