Ward County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

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.

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on April 14, 1885, with areas partitioned from Renville, Stevens, and Wynn counties (Stevens and Wynn counties are now defunct). 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 Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...

. 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 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 county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.09%) is water. It is the fifth-largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 2 * U.S. Highway 52 * U.S. Highway 83 * North Dakota Highway 5 * North Dakota Highway 23 * North Dakota Highway 28 * North Dakota Highway 50

Transit

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 ...

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 ...

'' ('' Minot station'') * Minot City Transit * Souris Basin Transportation

Adjacent counties

* Renville County – north * McHenry County – east * McLean County – south * Mountrail County – west * Burke County – northwest

Protected areas

* Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge (part) * Hiddenwood National Wildlife Refuge (part) * National Wildfowl Production Areas * Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Lakes

* Carpenter Lake * Douglas Lake (part) * Hiddenwood Lake (part) * Makoti Lake * Rice Lake * Rush Lake

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 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 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 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 ...

. 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. The median age in the county was 34.4 years. Ward County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition

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 ''(80.9% NH 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, there were 69,919 people, 28,847 households, and 17,323 families residing in the county. 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 32,176 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 81.58%

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 ...

, 4.33%

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 ...

, 2.44% Native American, 1.60% Asian, 0.19%

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 ...

, 1.97% from some other races and 7.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.56% of the population.

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%

, 2.50%

, 2.64% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.14%

, 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

, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.9) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.55,0.0,0.0) ImageSize = width:800 height:400 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:69920 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:17480 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:8740 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1890 text:1890 bar:1900 text:1900 bar:1910 text:1910 bar:1920 text:1920 bar:1930 text:1930 bar:1940 text:1940 bar:1950 text:1950 bar:1960 text:1960 bar:1970 text:1970 bar:1980 text:1980 bar:1990 text:1990 bar:2000 text:2000 bar:2010 text:2010 bar:2020 text:2020 bar:2024 text:present PlotData= color:barra width:25 align:left bar:1890 from: 0 till:1681 bar:1900 from: 0 till:7961 bar:1910 from: 0 till:25221 bar:1920 from: 0 till:28811 bar:1930 from: 0 till:33597 bar:1940 from: 0 till:31981 bar:1950 from: 0 till:34782 bar:1960 from: 0 till:47072 bar:1970 from: 0 till:58560 bar:1980 from: 0 till:58392 bar:1990 from: 0 till:57921 bar:2000 from: 0 till:58975 bar:2010 from: 0 till:61675 bar:2020 from: 0 till:69919 bar:2024 from: 0 till:68427 color:darkblue PlotData= bar:1890 at:1681 fontsize:M text:1,681 shift:(-16,6) bar:1900 at:7961 fontsize:M text:7,961 shift:(-16,6) bar:1910 at:25221 fontsize:M text:25,221 shift:(-16,6) bar:1920 at:28811 fontsize:M text:28,811 shift:(-16,6) bar:1930 at:33597 fontsize:M text:33,597 shift:(-16,6) bar:1940 at:31981 fontsize:M text:31,981 shift:(-16,6) bar:1950 at:34782 fontsize:M text:34,782 shift:(-16,6) bar:1960 at:47072 fontsize:M text:47,072 shift:(-16,6) bar:1970 at:58560 fontsize:M text:58,560 shift:(-16,6) bar:1980 at:58392 fontsize:M text:58,392 shift:(-16,6) bar:1990 at:57921 fontsize:M text:57,921 shift:(-16,6) bar:2000 at:58975 fontsize:M text:58,975 shift:(-16,6) bar:2010 at:61675 fontsize:M text:61,675 shift:(-16,6) bar:2020 at:69919 fontsize:M text:69,919 shift:(-16,6) bar:2024 at:68427 fontsize:M text:68,427 shift:(-16,6) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau

Communities

Cities

* Berthold * Burlington * Carpio * Des Lacs * Donnybrook * Douglas * Kenmare * Makoti * Minot (county seat) * Ryder * Sawyer *

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

Census-designated places

* Foxholm * Logan * Minot AFB * Ruthville

Unincorporated communities

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

Historical areas

* Harrison – early community, now part of Minot * Ralston – railroad siding * Waldorf – early community, now part of Minot

Townships

* Afton * Anna *

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

* Berthold * Brillian * Burlington * Burt * Cameron * Carbondale * Carpio *

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

* Des Lacs * Elmdale * Eureka *

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

* Foxholm *

Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

* Gasman * Greely * Greenbush * Harrison * Hiddenwood * Hilton * Iota Flat * Kenmare * Kirkelie * Linton *

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

* Mandan *

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

* Mayland *

McKinley McKinley may refer to: People *McKinley (name), a page for people with the surname and given name "McKinley" **William McKinley, 25th president of the United States. Places Philippines * Fort William McKinley (now Fort Bonifacio) in Metro Ma ...

* Nedrose * New Prairie * Newman * Orlien *

Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

* Ree * Rice Lake * Rolling Green * Rushville * Ryder * St. Marys * Sauk Prairie * Sawyer * Shealy * Spencer * Spring Lake * Sundre *

* Tatman * Tolgen * Torning * Vang *

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

* Willis

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 Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...