Williams County, North Dakota


Williams County is located on the western border of the U.S. state of North Dakota, next to Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,950, and was estimated to be 40,763 in 2024, making it the fifth-most populous county in North Dakota. The county seat and the largest city is Williston.
The Williston Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Williams County. It is bordered on the south by the upper Missouri River, whose confluence with its tributary Yellowstone River is located just east of the border with Montana.
WWW williamsnd.com

History

There have been two Williams counties in the history of North Dakota. The first, created in 1873, was located south of the Missouri River near where Dunn and Mercer counties are today. This county continued to exist through North Dakota statehood, and while the second Williams County was created in 1891. The first Williams County was extinguished by a county referendum on November 8, 1892; part of its territory was absorbed by Mercer County and the rest reverted to an unorganized territory.
The second Williams County was created by the North Dakota legislature on March 2, 1891, from the previous counties of Buford and Flannery, which were dissolved. The government of this county was organized on December 8, 1891. This county's boundaries were altered in 1910, when a portion of its territory was annexed to create Divide County. Its boundaries have remained unchanged since then. The county is named for Erastus Appleman Williams, a European-American settler who served in the Dakota Territory legislature and the North Dakota legislature.
In June 2014, lightning struck a Williams County Oasis Petroleum saltwater disposal facility. It sparked a fire that destroyed the facility, burning 630 gallons of oil and tens of thousands of gallons of brine.

Geography

Williams County lies on the west edge of North Dakota. Its west boundary line abuts the east boundary line of the state of Montana. The Missouri River flows eastward along the county's south boundary line from the confluence with its tributary Yellowstone River, located on the Dakota side of the state border with Montana. Horse Creek and Willow Creek flow to the west across the upper portion of the county. The terrain consists of isolated hills amid rolling, hilly, semi-arid stretches. The area is partly devoted to agriculture. The terrain is highest across its midpoint, and slopes to the NW and SE. Its highest point is a hill near the NE 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 fourth-largest county in North Dakota by total area.
Lake Sakakawea, a reservoir on the Missouri River, is situated on the southern boundary of the county. Little Muddy Creek is entirely within Williams County. The confluence of the Yellowstone River with the Missouri is west of Williston.
The Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site is located in Williams County along the Missouri River on the Montana border. Williams County is one of several western North Dakota counties with significant exposure to the Bakken formation in the Williston Basin.

Major highways

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Transit

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

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Lakes

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Demographics

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Williams County was $283,749. As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 15,308 estimated households in Williams County with an average of 2.53 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $90,224. Approximately 7.7% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Williams County has an estimated 73.0% employment rate, with 23.7% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 90.6% holding a high school diploma.
The top five reported ancestries were English, Spanish, Indo-European, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Other. The median age in the county was 32.3 years.
Williams County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
Race / ethnicity Pop. 1980Pop. 1990Pop. 2000Pop. 2010
White alone 21,366
19,953
18,245
20,364
30,761
Black or African American alone 3
18
18
57
2,041
Native American or Alaska Native alone 715
1,004
865
878
1,125
Asian alone 61
42
36
78
612
Pacific Islander alone ——2
5
98
Other race alone 21
2
4
3
164
Mixed race or multiracial ——406
577
2,252
Hispanic or Latino 71
110
185
436
3,897
Total22,237
21,129
19,761
22,398
40,950

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 40,763 people and 15,308 households residing in the county. There were 20,474 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 84.8% White , 5.4% African American, 4.3% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 3.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 10.3% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 40,950. Of the residents, 27.2% were under the age of 18 and 8.8% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 31.6 years. For every 100 females there were 117.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 123.2 males. There were 16,095 households and 9,585 families residing in the county.
The population density was. There were 20,227 housing units at an average density of ; 20.4% of those units were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 47.6% were owner-occupied and 52.4% were renter-occupied, with a homeowner vacancy rate of 2.7% and a rental vacancy rate of 21.3%.
The racial makeup of the county was 77.8% White, 5.1% Black or African American, 2.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% Asian, 3.7% from some other race, and 8.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 9.5% of the population.
Of the 16,095 households, 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 17.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 22,398 people, 9,293 households, and 5,746 families in the county. The population density was. There were 10,464 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 92.15% White, 0.28% African American, 4.01% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.31% from some other races and 2.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.95% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 46.2% were of Norwegian, 35.9% of German, 9.8% of Irish, 4.5% of Swedish and 4.4% of English ancestry.
Of the 9,293 households, 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.2% were non-families, and 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 39.0 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $55,396 and the median income for a family was $67,875. Males had a median income of $50,735 versus $27,071 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,153. About 4.7% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade


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Media

  • ''The Williston Herald''

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Townships

  • Athens
  • Barr Butte
  • Big Meadow
  • Big Stone
  • Blacktail
  • Blue Ridge
  • Bonetraill
  • Brooklyn
  • Buford
  • Bull Butte
  • Champion
  • Climax
  • Cow Creek
  • Dry Fork
  • Dublin
  • East Fork
  • Ellisville
  • Equality
  • Farmvale
  • Golden Valley
  • Good Luck
  • Grenora
  • Hardscrabble
  • Hazel
  • Hebron
  • Judson
  • Lindahl
  • Marshall
  • Missouri Ridge
  • Mont
  • New Home
  • Oliver
  • Orthell
  • Pherrin
  • Pleasant Valley
  • Rainbow
  • Rock Island
  • Round Prairie
  • Sauk Valley
  • Scorio
  • South Meadow
  • Springbrook
  • Stony Creek
  • Strandahl
  • Tioga
  • Trenton
  • Truax
  • Twelve Mile
  • Tyrone
  • View
  • West Bank
  • Wheelock
  • Williston
  • Winner

Defunct townships

  • Hofflund

Politics

Williams County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.

Education

School districts include:
Former districts include:
St. Joseph's Catholic School and Williston Trinity Christian School are two private schools in the county.