Williston is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

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 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 40,950, and was estimated to be 40,763 in 2024, making it the List of coun ...

, United States. The 2020 census gave its population as 29,160, making Williston the sixth-most populous city in North Dakota. The city's population nearly doubled between 2010 and 2020, due largely to the North Dakota oil boom. Williston's newspaper is the weekly '' Williston Herald''. Williston is the home of Williston State College and the Miss North Dakota Scholarship Pageant.

History

Founded in 1887, Williston was named for Daniel Willis James, a merchant and capitalist, by his friend, railroad magnate James J. Hill. In 1907 Williston was the site of a rolling cyclone that killed two people.

Geography

Williston is located at the crossroads of U.S. Highways 2 and 85, near the confluence of the

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

rivers, at the upper end of the Lake Sakakawea. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water. The

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

is from the

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

border and from the

Canadian border The borders of Canada include: * To the south and west: An international boundary with the United States, forming the Canada–United States border, longest shared border in the world, ; (Informally referred as the 49th parallel north which make ...

Climate

Williston has a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

; closely bordering upon a

warm-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

. It is part of USDA

Hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

4a. The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from in January to in July. On average, there are 2 days that reach or higher, 22 days of + highs, 39 days with a low of or below, 7 days with lows plummeting to at least , and 6 days that do not rise above 0 °F annually. The average window for freezing temperatures is September 20 through May 21, allowing a growing season of 121 days; . Extreme temperatures officially range from on December 23, 1983 and February 16, 1936 up to on July 5, 1936; the record cold daily maximum is on January 16, 1930, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is last set July 19, 1974. Precipitation is greatest in June and July and averages annually, but has ranged from in 1934 to in 1896. Snowfall averages per season, and has historically ranged from in 1908–1909 to in 2010–2011; the average window for measurable (≥) snowfall is October 21 through April 26, although snow in May occurs at most several times per decade and September snow is a much rarer event. Due to the relative aridity, there are only 3.9 days per season where 24-hour snowfall exceeds .

;Notes:

Demographics

Williston is in northwestern North Dakota's booming oil patch, where adequate, affordable housing has become a concern since the 2010s. According to a February 2014 article in ''Business Insider'', Williston had the highest

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

rents in the United States. The 2010 census counted a population of 14,716, up from 12,680 in 2000, but the number of residents was possibly significantly higher since the count did not include those living in temporary housing. In September 2011, the mayor estimated the actual population to be 20,000 persons. The aforementioned 2014 ''Business Insider'' story estimated that the population was over 30,000. As of the 2022

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, there are 11,410 estimated households in Williston with an average of 2.39 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $80,352. Approximately 7.4% of the city's population lives at or 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 ...

. Williston has an estimated 76.8% employment rate, with 25.8% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 89.8% holding a high school diploma. The top nine reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were German (18.0%), Norwegian (15.5%), English (4.5%), Irish (4.5%), Subsaharan African (2.9%), Polish (2.4%), French (except Basque) (2.1%), Scottish (1.3%), and Italian (0.8%). The median age in the city was 31.4 years.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 29,160 people, 11,706 households, and 6,570 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . There were 14,417 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 75.10%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 6.72%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2.62% Native American, 1.93% Asian, 0.33%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 4.33% from some other races and 8.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 10.85% of the population. 28.9% of residents were under the age of 18, 8.9% were under 5 years of age, and 7.9% were 65 and older.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 14,716 people, 6,180 households, and 3,589 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 6,542 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.65%

, 0.35%

, 3.32% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.03%

, 0.35% from some other races and 2.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.23% of the population. There were 6,180 households, of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.9% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age in the city was 35.5 years. 23.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 10% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.7% were from 25 to 44; 25.4% were from 45 to 64; and 14.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.0% male and 49.0% female.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 12,512 people, 5,255 households, and 3,205 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,912 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.69%

, 0.17%

, 3.65% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.02%

, 0.17% from some other races and 2.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.23% of the population. The six leading ancestry groups in the city are Norwegian (47.8%), German (31.6%), Irish (9.6%), English (5.8%), Swedish (4.5%), Dutch (4.3%) and French (4.0%). There were 5,255 households, of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were

living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.96. The age distribution was 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,962, and the median income for a family was $38,713. Males had a median income of $29,578 versus $18,879 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $16,656. About 11.3% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the

, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Williston's economy, while historically based in agriculture and especially ranching, is increasingly being driven by the oil industry. The

Williston Basin The Williston Basin is a large intracratonic sedimentary basin in eastern Montana, western North Dakota, South Dakota, southern Saskatchewan, and south-western Manitoba that is known for its rich deposits of petroleum and potash. The basin is a ...

, named after the town, is a huge subterranean geologic feature known for its rich deposits of

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

, and

potash Potash ( ) includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

. Williston developed over the Bakken formation, which by the end of 2012 was predicted to be producing more oil than any other site in the United States, surpassing even Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, the longtime leader in domestic output in the nation.. The state of North Dakota provides a website detailin
daily oil activity.
/ref> The oil boom has been spurred here by the development of new technologies—such as

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure inje ...

—which enabled extraction from areas previously inaccessible. In 1995, the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March ...

estimated that there were 150 million barrels of oil "technically recoverable" from the Bakken shale. In April 2008, the number was said to be about four billion barrels; in 2010 geologists at Continental Resources, the major drilling operation in North Dakota, estimated the reserve at eight billion. In March 2012, after the discovery of a lower shelf of oil, it announced a possible 24 billion barrels. Although current technology allows for extraction of only about 6% of the oil trapped beneath the earth's surface, recoverable oil might eventually exceed 500 billion barrels. Williston has seen a huge increase in population and infrastructure investments during the last several years with expanded drilling using the fracking petroleum extraction technique in the Bakken Formation and Three Forks Groups. Examples of oil industry-related infrastructure investments are the multi-acre branch campus of

Baker Hughes Baker Hughes Company is an American global energy technology company co-headquartered in Houston, Texas and London, UK. As one of the world's largest oil field services, industrial and energy technology companies, it provides products and serv ...

and the Sand Creek Retail Center. Williston-Amtrak

A major regional grain elevator is served by the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

. Williston's livestock arena has weekly auctions. Forts Union and Buford, as well as the nearby

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the

and

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

s west of the city, associated with the history of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

and development of the fur trade and frontier—are destinations for area tourism. Williston is also comparatively close to the North Unit of

Theodore Roosevelt National Park Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the badlands of western North Dakota comprising three geographically separated areas. This park pays homage to the time that ...

Arts and culture

Sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places include: * James Memorial Library, established in 1911, now James Memorial Art Center. * The Old Armory, built in 1915, now used by the community theater non-profit Entertainment, Inc!, founded in 1981.

Library

The first Williston Public Library was completed in town in 1911, opening February 27, 1911, and it operated as the only facility until 1983. In the early 1990s the city began to address the issue of probable demolition of this aged building to replace it with one meeting modern needs. Williston Public Library serves as the public library for all of Williams County. The library also has a bookmobile that serves rural schools and retirement home communities.

Sports

* Williston Keybirds of North Dakota American League Baseball. * The Williston Oilers played as members of the Mandak League from 1954 to 1957, winning the 1956 league championship. The Oilers played minor league home games at Ardean Aafedt Stadium. * Coyote Clay Target League.

Parks and recreation

* Eagle Ridge Golf Club – an 18-hole golf course. * Williston Municipal Golf Course – a nine-hole golf course. * Williston Area Recreation Center – a recreation center, built in 2014, that features indoor surfing, golf simulators, a water park, tennis and basketball courts, turf fields, and an indoor track.

Education

The Williston Basin School District 7 serves the entire city, with Williston High School as its public high school. Trinity Christian School is a private K–12 school, and St. Joseph Catholic School (of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bismarck) a private K–6 school. Williston State College was founded in 1961 as the University of North Dakota—Williston. It is a two-year public college in the North Dakota University System. Students can earn associate degrees, and transfer to the state universities offering four-year programs and degrees.

Media

Print

* '' Williston Herald'' * '' Oil Patch Hotline''

Television

* 4.1 KWSE (

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

) Prairie Public Television * 8.1 KUMV (

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

) * 11.1 KXMD ( CBS)

Radio

:FM * 88.1 K201FJ CSN network –

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

* 89.5 KPPR North Dakota Public Radio/ NPR affiliate * 90.3 K212DW

K-LOVE K-Love (stylized as K-LOVE) is an American Christian radio network. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry, it primarily broadcasts contemporary Christian music. As of June 2019, the network's progr ...

network –

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

* 90.7 KJND-FM Your Network of Praise –

* 91.7 K219CB American Family Radio network –

* 93.1 KGCX "Eagle 93"

Classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

– based in

Sidney, Montana Sidney is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Montana, Richland County, Montana, United States, less than west of the North Dakota border. The population was 6,346 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city lies alon ...

* 95.1 KTHC "Power 95.1"

Hot Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

* 96.1 KYYZ "Z96.1 Country Thunder"

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

* 101.1 KDSR "Hot 101"

Jack FM Jack FM is a radio network brand that is licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits radio format, format, in most cases not using disc jockey, DJs. F ...

* 102.7

KHRT KHRT (1320 AM broadcasting, AM) was a Christian radio station located in Minot, North Dakota. It was one of two religious stations, along with KHRT-FM, owned and operated in Minot by Faith Broadcasting Inc. KHRT concentrated on a southern gospe ...

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

–

contemporary christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

:AM * 660 KEYZ "Keyz NewsRadio"

News/Talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews ...

* 1070 KATQ

– based in Plentywood, Montana * 1090 KTGO

– based in Tioga

Infrastructure

Transportation

Williston Basin International Airport opened in 2019, replacing Sloulin Field International Airport.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

serves a station in Williston via its ''

Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great North ...

'', a once-daily train in each direction between

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. US 2 runs through the city. US 85 bypasses the city to the northwest, and US 85B bypasses the city to the northeast. ND 1804 runs through the southern portion of the city.

Demand response Demand response is a change in the power consumption of an electric utility customer to better match the demand for power with the supply. Until the 21st century decrease in the cost of pumped storage and batteries, electric energy could not b ...

service is provided by Northwest Dakota Public Transit. There is no fixed-route bus service in the city.

Health care

Williston clinics include Craven-Hagan Clinic, Fairlight Medical Center, and Trinity Community Clinic-Western Dakota. Mercy Medical Center provides 24-hour emergency and trauma care, and features the Leonard P. Nelson Family Cancer Treatment Center.

Notable people

* James A. Abrahamson, retired

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

officer and first head of the

Strategic Defense Initiative The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic nuclear missiles. The program was announced in 1983, by President Ronald Reagan. Reagan called for a ...

a.k.a. "Star Wars" * Larry Bergh, selected by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in the 1969 NBA draft, but never played * James R. Carrigan, United States District Court judge and Colorado Supreme Court justice, practiced law in Williston * Michael Dwyer, member of the

North Dakota Senate The North Dakota State Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives. Per the state constitution, North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative distri ...

* Sally Fraser, actress, born in Williston * Virgil Hill, silver medalist Olympic boxer (1984), four-time world champion boxer who lost his title to Xue Li * Darlene Hooley, congresswoman from Oregon *

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jackson is a 13-time NBA champion, having won two as a player and 11 as ...

, 11-time NBA championship head coach * Mark Lee, pitcher with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

* Brent Qvale, professional football player * Brian Qvale, professional basketball player

References

External links

* {{authority control 1887 establishments in Dakota Territory Cities in North Dakota Cities in Williams County, North Dakota County seats in North Dakota Micropolitan areas of North Dakota North Dakota populated places on the Missouri River Populated places established in 1887

History

Geography

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

2000 census

Economy

Arts and culture

Library

Sports

Parks and recreation

Education

Media

Print

Television

Radio

Infrastructure

Transportation

Health care

Notable people

See also

References

External links