| County: | Williams County |
| State: | North Dakota |
| Ex Image: | Williams County Courthouse - North Dakota.jpg |
| Ex Image Cap: | Williams County Courthouse |
| Founded Year: | 1891 |
| Seat Wl: | Williston |
| Largest City Wl: | Williston |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 2148 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 2077 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 70 |
| Area Percentage: | 3.3 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 40950 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Est: | 39113 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Time Zone: | Central |
| Web: | https://www.williamsnd.com/ |
| Named For: | Erastus Appleman Williams |
| District: | At-large |
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.[1] making it the fifth most populous county in North Dakota. Its county seat is Williston.[2]
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.
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.[3]
The county is named for Erastus Appleman Williams, a European-American settler who served in the Dakota Territory legislature and the North Dakota legislature.[4]
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.[5] 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 2470feet ASL.[6] The county has a total area of, of which is land and (3.3%) is water.[7] It is the fourth-largest county in North Dakota by 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.
As of the 2020 census, there were 40,950 people, 16,095 households, and 9,585 families in the county.[8] The population density was 19.7sp=usNaNsp=us There were 20,227 housing units.
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 92.1% white, 4.0% American Indian, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.3% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% 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.
ImageSize = width:700 height:350PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30DateFormat = x.yPeriod = from:0 till:41000TimeAxis = orientation:verticalAlignBars = lateScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:10250 start:0ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:5125 start:0BackgroundColors = 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:2023 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:2023 from: 0 till:39113 color:darkblue
PlotData=
bar:1880 at:14 fontsize:M text:14 shift:(-14,5) bar:1890 at:109 fontsize:M text:109 shift:(-14,5) bar:1900 at:1530 fontsize:M text:1530 shift:(-14,5) bar:1910 at:14234 fontsize:M text:14234 shift:(-14,5) bar:1920 at:17980 fontsize:M text:17980 shift:(-14,5) bar:1930 at:19553 fontsize:M text:19553 shift:(-14,5) bar:1940 at:16315 fontsize:M text:16315 shift:(-14,5) bar:1950 at:16442 fontsize:M text:16442 shift:(-14,5) bar:1960 at:22051 fontsize:M text:22051 shift:(-15,5) bar:1970 at:19301 fontsize:M text:19301 shift:(-15,5) bar:1980 at:22237 fontsize:M text:22237 shift:(-15,5) bar:1990 at:21129 fontsize:M text:21129 shift:(-16,5) bar:2000 at:19761 fontsize:M text:19761 shift:(-16,5) bar:2010 at:22398 fontsize:M text:22398 shift:(-16,5) bar:2020 at:40950 fontsize:M text:40950 shift:(-16,5) bar:2023 at:39113 fontsize:M text:39113 shift:(-16,5)
TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau
Williams County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.
School districts include:[10]
Former districts include:[10] [11]