FARGO (AP) - Bismarck and Fargo rank among the top 100 for percentage growth among metropolitan areas in the United States, new Census Bureau estimates show.

Figures released late Wednesday place Bismarck at 72nd and Fargo at 97th in percentage population growth between July 2006 and July 2007, among 363 metropolitan statistical areas.

"That's a trend that's really exciting for us," said Richard Rathge, director of the state Data Center.

Bismarck and Fargo showed better than 2 percent increases in population. Both areas had growth under 1 percent at the beginning of the decade, Rathge said.

"Bismarck is starting to outpace growth in the Fargo-Moorhead area, which really shows the signs of economic activity in the state," Rathge said. "Two of the main drivers we have are agriculture and energy, which is doing well. It's no wonder we're growing."

The Fargo metropolitan area, which includes Cass County and Clay County, Minn., is estimated at 192,417 people. The Bismarck area, which includes Burleigh and Morton counties, is estimated at 103,242 people.

Rathge attributes Fargo's growth to a high-tech research park, private and public partnerships and increasing enrollment at North Dakota State University.

"I was again, for a long time, skeptical about the growth of the university," Rathge said. Despite his skepticism, he said, "that's exactly what they're doing."

The Sioux Falls, S.D., area grew by 2.5 percent in the last year, making it the fastest growing metropolitan area in the region.

The Palm Coast, Fla., area was the fastest-growing in the nation by percentage. Population there jumped by 7.2 percent to more than 536,000.