McKenzie County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,704. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Watford City Watford City (Hidatsa: abaʔaruʔush), founded in 1914, is a city in and the county seat of McKenzie County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 6,207 at the 2020 census, making it the thirteenth largest city in North Dakota. Becaus ...

. The county lies immediately adjacent to the Williston Micropolitan Statistical Area, although the Census Bureau does not include McKenzie County in that grouping.

History

The

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

legislature created the county on March 9, 1883, with areas partitioned from Howard County (now extinct). The county was named for Alexander McKenzie, a territorial political figure who was later disgraced for corruption. The county was not organized at that time, and was not attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. The county's boundary was altered in 1885, and on March 2, 1891, the state legislature authorized the dissolution of the county, assigning its territories to

Billings Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...

and Stark counties. However, this directive was not implemented, and McKenzie continued as a defined county until November 3, 1896, when another act was passed to dissolve the county and assign its territories to Billings County. This act was challenged in the courts, and on May 24, 1901, the state Supreme Court held that the county was to continue in existence. On March 10, 1903, the county was attached to Stark County for administrative purposes. On March 16, 1905, McKenzie gained the territories of Allred and Wallace counties as those counties were administratively dissolved. On April 20, 1905, the McKenzie County government was organized, and its previous attachment to Stark was terminated. The first county seat was

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

. In 1907 the seat was moved to Schafer, and in 1941 it was moved to the present location, Watford City. Between the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

censuses, McKenzie County was the fastest growing county in the United States, growing by 131.2% from 6,360 to 14,704 inhabitants, largely due to the

Bakken Formation The Bakken Formation () is a rock unit from the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian age occupying about of the subsurface of the Williston Basin, underlying parts of Montana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The formation was initi ...

oil boom An oil boom is a period of large inflow of income as a result of high global oil prices or large oil production in an economy. Generally, this short period initially brings economic benefits, in terms of increased GDP growth, but might later lead ...

Geography

McKenzie County lies on the west line of North Dakota. Its west boundary line abuts the east boundary line of the state of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. The Missouri River flows easterly along the western portion of the county's north boundary line, and the enlargement of the Missouri as it discharges into

Lake Sakakawea Lake Sakakawea is a large reservoir in the north central United States, impounded in 1953 by Garrison Dam, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam located in the Missouri River basin in central North Dakota. Named for the Shoshone-Hidatsa woman Saka ...

forms the eastern portion of the county's north and northeastern boundary line. The

Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountains an ...

flows into the northwestern corner of the county from Montana, and discharges into the Missouri at the county's northern boundary line. The Little Missouri River flows northeasterly through the county's lower portion, on its way to discharge into Lake Sakakawea, east of the county's east boundary line. The county terrain consists of semi-arid rolling hills, carved by river valleys and drainages. The area is partially devoted to agriculture.''McKenzie County ND'' Google Maps (accessed February 26, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the east and north, with its highest point on its south boundary line, at 2,684' (818m) ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.5%) is water. It is the largest county in North Dakota by area. The McKenzie County landscape features a wide diversity of physical features, ranging from sugarbeet fields bordering the Missouri River at the northwest corner of the county to rugged badlands near the Little Missouri River in the south, where

Theodore Roosevelt National Park Theodore Roosevelt National Park is an American national park of the badlands in western North Dakota comprising three geographically separated areas. Honoring U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, it is the only American national park named direct ...

and the

Little Missouri National Grassland Little Missouri National Grassland is a National Grassland located in western North Dakota, USA. At , it is the largest grassland in the country. Enclaved within its borders is Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which is managed by the National Par ...

are located. Between the two rivers is a large area of prairie, ranging from gentle rolling terrain to rocky, rugged pastures. The southeast corner of the county, bordering on the Little Missouri badlands of neighboring Dunn County, is abundant in wildlife,

quaking aspen ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, tr ...

groves, and

bur oak ''Quercus macrocarpa'', the bur oak or burr oak, is a species of oak tree native to eastern North America. It is in the white oak section, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'', and is also called mossycup oak, mossycup white oak, blue oak, or scrub oa ...

groves, interspersed in places with

western red cedar ''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae, w ...

on the north-facing slopes of the badlands. The southwestern corner counties of North Dakota (Adams, Billings, Bowman, Golden Valley, Grant, Hettinger, Slope, Stark) observe

Mountain Time The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The cloc ...

. The counties of McKenzie, Dunn, and Sioux are split between Mountain and Central Time.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 85 U.S. Route 85 (US 85) is a north–south United States Highway that travels in the Mountain and Northern Plains states of the United States. The southern terminus of the highway is at the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, connecting wi ...

North Dakota Highway 22 North Dakota Highway 22 (ND 22) is a major north–south state highway in North Dakota. It begins at the South Dakota state line south of the small town of Reeder and ends at ND 23 west of New Town and north of Mandaree. The route ha ...

North Dakota Highway 23 North Dakota Highway 23 (ND 23) is a east–west highway in northwestern North Dakota. ND 23's eastern terminus is at ND 41 near Velva, and its western terminus at U.S. Route 85 (US 85) in Watford City. The only cities that ND 23 runs direc ...

* North Dakota Highway 58 * North Dakota Highway 68 *

North Dakota Highway 73 North Dakota Highway 73 (ND 73) is a east–west state highway in the U.S. state of North Dakota. ND 97's western terminus is at ND 23 east of Watford City Watford City (Hidatsa: abaʔaruʔush), founded in 1914, is a city i ...

North Dakota Highway 200 North Dakota Highway 200 (ND 200) is a major east–west state highway in North Dakota, United States. It runs from Minnesota State Highway 200 at the Minnesota border near Halstad, Minnesota to Montana Highway 200 near Fairview, Montana. At ...

North Dakota Highway 1806 North Dakota Highway 1806 (ND 1806) is a state highway in the U.S. state of North Dakota. ND 1806 and ND 1804 were named to reflect the years of Lewis and Clark's travels through the area, and run along the southwest and northeast sides of the ...

Adjacent counties

* Williams County - north (observes Central Time) * Mountrail County - northeast (observes Central Time) * Dunn County - southeast (observes Mountain Time in western section) * Billings County - south (observes Mountain Time) *

Golden Valley County Golden Valley County is the name of two counties in the United States: * Golden Valley County, Montana *Golden Valley County, North Dakota Golden Valley County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the populat ...

- southwest (observes Mountain Time) *

Wibaux County, Montana Wibaux County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 937, making it the fourth-least populous county in Montana. Its county seat is Wibaux. History Wibaux County was created by the Montana Legi ...

- west (observes Mountain Time) *

Richland County, Montana Richland County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,491. Its county seat is Sidney. Richland County was created by the Montana Legislature in 1914 from part of Dawson County. An early propos ...

- northwest (observes Mountain Time)

Protected areas

* Antelope Creek State Game Management Area * Antelope Creek State Wildlife Refuge * Bear Den Creek Public Use Area *

(part) * Maah Daah Hey Trail *

(North Unit - contained within LM National Grassland) * Tobacco Garden Creek State Game Management Area * Tobacco Garden Creek Recreation Area

Lakes

* Demicks Lake *

* Nohly Lake

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 5,737 people, 2,151 households, and 1,548 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 2.08/sqmi (0.80/km²). There were 2,719 housing units at an average density of 0.99/sqmi (0.38/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.36%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.07%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 21.18% Native American, 0.05%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.14% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.19% from two or more races. 1.01% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. 33.4% were of

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

and 20.9%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

ancestry. There were 2,151 households, out of which 34.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.17. The county population contained 30.60% under the age of 18, 5.50% from 18 to 24, 23.30% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 100.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,342, and the median income for a family was $34,091. Males had a median income of $26,351 versus $20,147 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $14,732. About 13.70% of families and 17.20% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 22.10% of those under age 18 and 12.70% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 6,360 people, 2,410 households, and 1,682 families in the county. The population density was 2.30/sqmi (0.89/km²). There were 3,090 housing units at an average density of 1.12/sqmi (0.43/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 75.3% white, 22.2% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.4% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 39.5% were

, 30.6% were

, 6.1% were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, and 0.7% were

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. Of the 2,410 households, 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.2% were non-families, and 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.06. The median age was 38.0 years. The median income for a household in the county was $48,480 and the median income for a family was $58,906. Males had a median income of $42,803 versus $33,056 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,605. About 6.7% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the

, including 12.8% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Arnegard *

(county seat)

Census-designated places

* East Fairview *

Four Bears Village Four Bears Village is a census-designated place (CDP) in McKenzie County, North Dakota, McKenzie County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 500 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Geography Four Bears Village is located at ...

* Mandaree

Unincorporated communities

* Banks *

Cartwright Cartwright may refer to: * Wainwright (occupation), a tradesperson skilled in the making and repairing of carts or wagons * Cartwright (surname), including the list of people Places ; Australia * Cartwright, New South Wales ; Canada * Cartwr ...

Charbonneau Charbonneau may refer to: People * Charbonneau (surname) Places * Charbonneau, North Dakota * Charbonneau, Oregon Wine grapes *Charbonneau (grape), another name for the French wine grape Douce noir *Dolcetto, Italian wine grape that is also ...

* Charlson * Dore * Grassy Butte * Hawkeye * Johnsons Corner (or Johnson Corner) * Keene * Kroff *

Rawson Rawson may refer to: Places *Rawson, Chubut, the capital of Chubut Province, Argentina *Rawson Department, Chubut, Argentina *Rawson Department, San Juan, Argentina **Villa Krause, also named Rawson, the capital city of the department * Rawson, Vic ...

* Schafer

Townships

* Alex * Antelope Creek * Arnegard * Blue Butte * Charbon * Elm Tree * Ellsworth * Grail * Hawkeye * Keene * Randolph * Riverview * Sioux * Tri * Twin Valley * Yellowstone

Defunct Townships

Elk, Poe, and Wilbur townships merged January 1, 2002 to form Tri Township.

Politics

McKenzie County voters have traditionally voted Republican. In only one national election since 1948 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020).

Education

School districts include: K-12: *

Alexander Public School District 2 Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

* Mandaree Public School District 36 * McKenzie County Public School District 1 * New Town Public School District 1 *

Williston Basin School District 7 Williston Basin School District 7 (WBSD7) is a school district headquartered in Williston, North Dakota. History In 2020 a vote was held on whether it was to merge the Williston School District 1 with the Williams County Public School District ...

Elementary: * Earl Public School District 18 * Horse Creek Public School District 32 * Yellowstone Public School District 14 Former districts * Grassy Butte District - Merged into the Killdeer district * Williston Public School District 1 - Merged into Williston Basin district in 2021