What Metro COG does

Metro COG, legally the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments, is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area, which spans Cass County, North Dakota and Clay County, Minnesota. Its functional role is to perform continuing, comprehensive, and cooperative (3-C) regional transportation planning for 16 member jurisdictions, develop the long-range Metropolitan Transportation Plan (currently the Metro 2050 MTP), produce the multi-year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and the biennial Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), and coordinate public participation. Its core technology is a Geographic Information System (GIS) used to coordinate and publish regional spatial data, alongside a public-facing website that hosts plans, documents, meeting materials, surveys, and interactive engagement tools. The organization has 1-10 employees and is led by Executive Director Ben Griffith, who also serves as Title VI Coordinator and ADA Coordinator.

Metro COG does not sell a commercial product. Its business model is that of a public agency: it is funded through federal surface transportation planning grants administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and passed through the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), supplemented by contributions from member jurisdictions. There are no user fees or commercial pricing; planning services are provided at no charge to member governments and the public. Core partnerships are with NDDOT, MnDOT, FHWA, FTA, and the regional transit operator MATBUS, with Metro COG's plans formally incorporated into both states' State Transportation Improvement Programs.

Recent operating activity includes the 2025 completion of the Metro 2050 MTP and the West 94 Area Transportation Plan, the 2025-2026 finalization of the 2026-2030 Transit Development Plan, the Horace Downtown Neighborhood Plan, and the Metro Railroad Needs Study. The organization has been operating since at least 2008 (per website copyright), with a Title VI Non-Discrimination Program in place since 2012. As an MPO, Metro COG holds a federally mandated monopoly on regional transportation plan-making and federal fund coordination within its designated boundary, making it institutionally permanent rather than commercially contestable.

Name

Metro COG

Legal name

Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments

Website

https://fmmetrocog.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Metro COG (Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments) is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization that coordinates regional transportation planning, federal fund allocation, and GIS data for 16 member jurisdictions across the Fargo-Moorhead metro area spanning Cass County, ND and Clay County, MN.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Transportation Planning

NAICS

Urban Transit Systems (4851), Bus and Other Motor Vehicle Transit Systems (485113), Other Support Activities for Transportation (4889)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700), Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans (4100)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Transit Agencies (Bus, Rail, Metro, Paratransit) (BPAIALAB)

Keywords

• Regional transportation planning
• Metropolitan planning organization
• Transportation improvement program
• GIS data coordination
• Public transit planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Fargo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Federal Transportation Funding: Metro COG is a federally required metropolitan planning organization that coordinates the expenditure of federal surface transportation funds. The organization develops plans and programs that allocate federal transportation funding to local projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Metro COG (Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments) is a federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization that develops regional transportation plans and programs for the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area spanning Cass County, ND and Clay County, MN. It produces the long-range Metropolitan Transportation Plan, the multi-year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), the biennial Unified Planning Work Program, transit development plans, and coordinates GIS data for the region. The organization serves 16 member jurisdictions, allocating federal surface transportation funds in cooperation with FHWA, FTA, NDDOT, and MnDOT.

Product overview

Metro COG (Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments) is a regional planning organization, not a technology product company. It does not offer software products or technology services. The organization provides regional planning services including transportation planning, GIS data coordination, public participation programs, and policy planning for the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area. Its offerings consist of planning documents, programs, and administrative services rather than technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Metropolitan Transportation Plan (Metro 2050)
• Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
• Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)
• Public Participation Plan
• Title VI Non-Discrimination Program
• Limited English Proficiency Plan
• GIS Data Services
• 2026-2030 Transit Development Plan

Quantifiable outcome

• Coordinates transportation projects across the 2026-2029 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState transportation department partner in the metropolitan planning process; cooperates on transportation projects and incorporates Metro COG plans into the Minnesota State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)
• North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState transportation department partner; works with Metro COG on transportation planning and project coordination; incorporates Metro COG plans into the North Dakota STIP
• Metro Area Transit (MATBUS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic transit provider for Fargo-Moorhead; participates in transportation planning process; projects included in TIP for transit improvements
• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agency providing funding and oversight for roadway and trail projects; reviews STIPs for conformity with federal transportation laws
• Federal Transit Administration (FTA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agency providing funding for public transit projects; cooperates with Metro COG on transit planning and funding allocation

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• WSP USA: A global professional services firm with a substantial U.S. transportation planning practice. Comparable as a broad incumbent providing MPO-support services including long-range planning, environmental review, and transit planning at scale.
• HDR Inc. An employee-owned engineering, architecture, and planning firm with a major transportation practice. Comparable as a large incumbent that competes for the same MPO planning, corridor, and infrastructure studies that Metro COG either performs in-house or procures.
• AECOM: A global infrastructure consulting firm with deep U.S. transportation planning capabilities. Comparable as a large incumbent that competes for major MPO planning contracts and provides technical services across multimodal planning, similar in scope but vastly larger in scale.
• Kimley-Horn and Associates: A large national transportation planning and engineering consulting firm. Comparable in delivering the analytical and planning work (long-range plans, corridor studies, transit development plans) that underpins MPO outputs, often under contract to MPOs like Metro COG.
• Cambridge Systematics: A transportation planning consultancy focused on modeling, policy analysis, and multimodal planning. Comparable in providing the technical capability set (travel demand modeling, freight planning, TIP support) that MPOs require — Metro COG partners with similarly positioned firms for specialized work.

Direct peers

• Bismarck-Mandan Metropolitan Planning Organization: A North Dakota MPO serving the Bismarck-Mandan metro area. Comparable in being a federally-mandated, locally-governed MPO coordinating TIP/MTP development with the state DOT — the closest in-state structural analog to Metro COG.
• Grand Forks-East Grand Forks Metropolitan Planning Organization: Another bi-state small/mid-sized MPO in North Dakota/Minnesota. Operates under the same federal 3-C planning requirements, coordinating transportation planning across two states for a metro of comparable scale — directly comparable in mandate, funding model, and scope.

Emerging players

• Metro Area Transit (MATBUS): The public transit operator for the Fargo-Moorhead region. Comparable as a partner entity that depends on Metro COG's planning and federal fund allocation decisions; overlapping domain (transit) but operating rather than planning role.

Others

• Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO): The national membership association representing MPOs. Comparable as the institutional ecosystem in which Metro COG operates, providing peer benchmarking, advocacy, and best-practice resources that shape MPO operating norms.

Regional players

• East Central Regional Planning Commission: A regional planning organization serving counties in central Minnesota adjacent to Metro COG's service area. Comparable as a regional planning counterpart operating under similar state/federal frameworks but focused on a different (non-MPO) geography and broader scope of planning domains.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/fmmetrocog

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Metro COG