Williams County is located on the western border of 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 so ...

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 ...

, next to

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 ...

. 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 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 Williston. The Williston Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Williams County. It is bordered on the south by the upper

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 ...

, whose confluence with its tributary

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

is located just east of the border with Montana.

History

There have been two Williams counties in the history of North Dakota. The first, created in 1873, was located south of the

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

. The

flows eastward along the county's south boundary line from the confluence with its tributary

, 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.''Williams County ND'' Google Maps (accessed February 19, 2019)
/ref> 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 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 (3.27%) is water. It is the fourth-largest county in North Dakota by total area. Lake Sakakawea, a reservoir on the

, is situated on the southern boundary of the county. Little Muddy Creek is entirely within Williams County. The confluence of the

with the Missouri is west of Williston. The

Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site is a partial reconstruction of the most important fur trading post on the upper Missouri River from 1829 to 1867. The fort site is about two miles from the confluence of the Missouri River and its t ...

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 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 ...

Major highways

* * * * * * *

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 ...

'' ('' Williston station'') * Wildrose Public Transportation (WPT)

Adjacent counties

* Divide County (north) * Burke County (northeast) * Mountrail County (east) * McKenzie County (south) * Roosevelt County, Montana (southwest) * Sheridan County, Montana (west)

Protected areas

(part) * Hofflund State Game Management Area * Lewis & Clark State Park * Lake Zahl National Wildlife Refuge * North Tobacco Garden State Game Management Area

Lakes

* Alkali Lake * Blacktail Lake * Cottonwood Lake * Epping Dam * Green Lake * Helle Slough * Holm Lake * Kota-Ray Dam * Lake Trenton * Lake Zahl * McLeod Lake * Shirley Lake * Tioga River Dam * Twin Lakes

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 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 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 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 ...

. 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 (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (89.8%), Spanish (5.6%), Indo-European (1.5%), Asian and Pacific Islander (1.0%), and Other (2.1%). The median age in the county was 32.3 years. Williams County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition

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 ''(76.3% NH 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, there were 40,950 people, 16,095 households, and 9,585 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 20,227 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 77.79%

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 ...

, 5.12%

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 ...

, 2.93% Native American, 1.55% Asian, 0.25%

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 ...

, 3.73% from some other races and 8.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 9.52% of the population.

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%

, 0.28%

, 4.01% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.02%

, 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

, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 10.4% 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:750 height:375 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:40952 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:10238 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:5119 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1880 text:1880 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:1880 from: 0 till:14 bar:1890 from: 0 till:109 bar:1900 from: 0 till:1530 bar:1910 from: 0 till:14234 bar:1920 from: 0 till:17980 bar:1930 from: 0 till:19553 bar:1940 from: 0 till:16315 bar:1950 from: 0 till:16442 bar:1960 from: 0 till:22051 bar:1970 from: 0 till:19301 bar:1980 from: 0 till:22237 bar:1990 from: 0 till:21129 bar:2000 from: 0 till:19761 bar:2010 from: 0 till:22398 bar:2020 from: 0 till:40950 bar:2024 from: 0 till:40763 color:darkblue PlotData= bar:1880 at:14 fontsize:M text:14 shift:(-16,6) bar:1890 at:109 fontsize:M text:109 shift:(-16,6) bar:1900 at:1530 fontsize:M text:1,530 shift:(-16,6) bar:1910 at:14234 fontsize:M text:14,234 shift:(-16,6) bar:1920 at:17980 fontsize:M text:17,980 shift:(-16,6) bar:1930 at:19553 fontsize:M text:19,553 shift:(-16,6) bar:1940 at:16315 fontsize:M text:16,315 shift:(-16,6) bar:1950 at:16442 fontsize:M text:16,442 shift:(-16,6) bar:1960 at:22051 fontsize:M text:22,051 shift:(-16,6) bar:1970 at:19301 fontsize:M text:19,301 shift:(-16,6) bar:1980 at:22237 fontsize:M text:22,237 shift:(-16,6) bar:1990 at:21129 fontsize:M text:21,129 shift:(-16,6) bar:2000 at:19761 fontsize:M text:19,761 shift:(-16,6) bar:2010 at:22398 fontsize:M text:22,398 shift:(-16,6) bar:2020 at:40950 fontsize:M text:40,950 shift:(-16,6) bar:2024 at:40763 fontsize:M text:40,763 shift:(-16,6) TextData= fontsize:M pos:(20,20) text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau

Media

* ''The Williston Herald''

Communities

Cities

Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alam ...

* Epping * Grenora * Ray * Springbrook * Tioga * Wildrose * Williston (county seat)

Census-designated places

* Blacktail * Long Creek * McGregor * Trenton

Other unincorporated communities

Appam An appam or vellayappam is a type of thin pancake originating from South India. It is made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk, traditionally cooked in an ''appachatti'', a deep pan similar in shape to a wok. It's a popular dish in Indi ...

* Bonetraill * Buford *

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

* Hanks * Lunds Landing *

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

* Wheelock * Zahl

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

References

External links

Williams County – official website

Map of southeastern portion of Williams County
''North Dakota DOT''
Map of northern portion of Williams County
''North Dakota DOT''
Map of southwestern portion of Williams County
''North Dakota DOT'' {{Authority control 1891 establishments in North Dakota Populated places established in 1891 North Dakota counties on the Missouri River