Ward County, North Dakota


Ward County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,919, and was estimated to be 68,427 in 2024. making it the fourth-most populous county in North Dakota. The county seat and the largest city is Minot.
Ward County is part of the Minot, North Dakota metropolitan area as comprising all of McHenry, Renville, and Ward Counties.
WWW co.ward.nd.us

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on April 14, 1885, with areas partitioned from Renville, Stevens, and Wynn counties. The county government was not organized at that date; the organization was effected on November 23 of that year. The county was named for Mark Ward, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Counties during the session. Burlington was the county seat; this was changed to Minot in 1888.
The boundaries of Ward County were altered two times in 1887, and in 1892, 1909 and 1910. The present county boundaries have been in place since 1910.
Until 1908, Ward County included what is now Burke, Mountrail, and Renville counties; this landmass often being referred to as 'Imperial Ward' County and which was the largest county in the state at the time. In 1908, voters took up measures to partition the county. The results for that portion forming Mountrail County were accepted but the results for the portions that would become Burke and Renville counties were disputed in court, which resulted in favorable rulings in 1910. When the proposed county lines for Burke and Renville counties were drawn, neither group wanted to include Kenmare and risk that city's becoming the county seat, so Kenmare was left in Ward County at the end of a narrow strip of land, commonly referred to as the 'gooseneck'. One of the options reportedly considered around this time was to create a fifth county, Lake, with Kenmare as its seat.

Geography

The Des Lacs River flows southeasterly through the northeast part of the county before doubling to the northeast on its journey to Lake Winnipeg. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, dotted with ponds and lakes in its southern part, and carved by drainage gullies. The area is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east and north, with its highest point near the southwest corner, at ASL.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. It is the fifth-largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Major highways

Transit

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Lakes

Source:

Demographics

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Ward County was $266,796.
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 28,290 estimated households in Ward County with an average of 2.38 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $79,273. Approximately 7.4% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Ward County has an estimated 64.5% employment rate, with 29.7% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 95.1% holding a high school diploma.
Ward County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
Race / ethnicity Pop. 1980Pop. 1990Pop. 2000Pop. 2010
White alone 55,380
54,131
53,786
54,717
55,673
Black or African American alone 1,074
1,385
1,262
1,469
2,853
Native American or Alaska Native alone 667
946
1,180
1,533
1,570
Asian alone 330
566
474
550
1,087
Pacific Islander alone ——29
76
129
Other race alone 185
36
41
34
250
Mixed race or multiracial ——898
1,427
3,767
Hispanic or Latino 756
857
1,125
1,869
4,590
Total58,392
57,921
58,975
61,675
69,919

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 68,427 people and 28,290 households residing in the county. There were 32,731 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 86.9% White , 4.8% African American, 2.8% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 7.4% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 69,919, 28,847 households, and 17,323 families residing in the county.
The population density was.
There were 32,176 housing units at an average density of, of which 10.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 57.2% were owner-occupied and 42.8% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.9%.
Of the residents, 24.5% were under the age of 18 and 13.3% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 32.8 years. For every 100 females there were 104.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 105.1 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 81.6% White, 4.3% [African Americans|American (U.S. census)|African American], 2.4% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 2.0% from some other race, and 7.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.6% of the population.
There were 28,847 households in the county, of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 22.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 61,675 people, 25,029 households, and 15,597 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 26,744 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 90.35% White, 2.50% African American, 2.64% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 0.69% from some other races and 2.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.03% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 44.4% were German, 30.8% were Norwegian, 11.6% were Irish, 5.7% were English, and 2.3% were American.
There were 25,029 households, 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.7% were non-families, and 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 32.7 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $48,793 and the median income for a family was $60,361. Males had a median income of $37,569 versus $28,415 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,326. About 6.7% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade


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Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Source:
  • Aurelia –
  • Drady
  • Gassman – founded when the Gassman Creek Coulee trestle was being built, now referred to as "Trestle Valley"
  • Hartland –
  • Hesnault
  • Lonetree
  • Rice Lake – community at Rice Lake near Minot
  • South Prairie
  • Wolseth

Historical areas

Source:
  • Harrison – early community, now part of Minot
  • Ralston – railroad siding
  • Waldorf – early community, now part of Minot

Townships

Politics

Ward County voters are traditionally and increasingly Republican. The Democratic Party presidential candidate has only won the county once since 1944, during Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide victory in 1964. In 2024, Donald Trump received 72.3% of the vote in this county, the highest for any candidate since Theodore Roosevelt.