Minot is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately 15 miles north of the city. With a population of 40,888 at the 2010 census, Minot is the state's fourth-largest city and a trading center for a large part of northern North Dakota, southwestern Manitoba, and southeastern Saskatchewan. Founded in 1886 during the construction of James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway, Minot is also known as "Magic City", commemorating its remarkable growth in size over a short time.
Minot is the principal city of the Minot micropolitan area, a micropolitan area that covers McHenry, Renville, and Ward counties and had a combined population of 69,540 at the 2010 census. In 2020, it was estimated that the population of the Minot Micropolitan Area was 76,444.