Ward County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,919, and was estimated to be 68,233 in 2025. making it the fourth-most populous county in North Dakota. The county seat 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. 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 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 Empire Builder (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 Source:
Carpenter Lake Douglas Lake (part) Hiddenwood Lake (part) Makoti Lake Rice Lake Rush Lake
Demographics
As of the third quarter of 2025, the median home value in Ward County was $294,489.
As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there are 29,798 estimated households in Ward County with an average of 2.23 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $69,069. Approximately 11.2% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Ward County has an estimated 57.3% employment rate, with 31.2% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 94.4% holding a high school diploma. There were 32,734 housing units at an average density of .
The median age in the county was 34.7 years.
+Ward County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop. 1980 Pop. 1990 Pop. 2000 Pop. 2010 Pop. 2024 White alone (NH) 55,380(94.84%) 54,131(93.46%) 53,786(91.48%) 54,717(88.72%) 55,673(79.62%) 55,029(80.42%) Black or African American alone (NH) 1,074(1.84%) 1,385(2.39%) 1,262(2.15%) 1,469(2.38%) 2,853(4.08%) 3,089(4.51%) Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 667(1.14%) 946(1.63%) 1,180(2.01%) 1,533(2.49%) 1,570(2.25%) 1,694(2.48%) Asian alone (NH) 330(0.57%) 566(0.98%) 474(0.81%) 550(0.89%) 1,087(1.55%) 1,184(1.73%) Pacific Islander alone (NH) — — 29(0.05%) 76(0.12%) 129(0.18%) 115(0.17%) Other race alone (NH) 185(0.32%) 36(0.06%) 41(0.07%) 34(0.06%) 250(0.36%) — Mixed race or multiracial (NH) — — 898(1.53%) 1,427(2.31%) 3,767(5.39%) 2,046(2.99%) Hispanic or Latino (any race) 756(1.29%) 857(1.48%) 1,125(1.91%) 1,869(3.03%) 4,590(6.56%) 5,270(7.70%) Total 58,392(100.00%) 57,921(100.00%) 58,975(100.00%) 61,675(100.00%) 69,919(100.00%) 68,427(100.00%)
2024 estimate As of the 2024 estimate, there were 68,427 people, 29,798 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 32,734 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 86.55% White, 4.94% African American, 2.97% Native American, 1.83% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 3.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 7.70% 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 was . There were 32,176 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 81.58% White, 4.33% African American, 2.44% Native American, 1.60% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 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.
There were 28,847 households in the county, of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 22.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Of the residents, 24.5% were under the age of 18 and 13.3% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 32.8 years. For every 100 females there were 104.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 105.1 males. Among occupied housing units, 57.2% were owner-occupied and 42.8% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.9%.
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% White, 2.50% African American, 2.64% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 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 poverty line, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.
Population by decade
Communities Cities
Berthold Burlington Carpio Des Lacs Donnybrook Douglas Kenmare Makoti Minot (county seat) Ryder Sawyer Surrey
Census-designated places
Foxholm Logan Minot AFB Ruthville
Unincorporated communities Source:
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 Source:
Harrison – early community, now part of Minot Ralston – railroad siding Waldorf – early community, now part of Minot
Townships
Afton Anna Baden Berthold Brillian Burlington Burt Cameron Carbondale Carpio Denmark Des Lacs Elmdale Eureka Evergreen Foxholm Freedom Gasman Greely Greenbush Harrison Hiddenwood Hilton Iota Flat Kenmare Kirkelie Linton Lund Mandan Margaret Maryland Mayland McKinley Nedrose New Prairie Newman Orlien Passport Ree Rice Lake Rolling Green Rushville Ryder St. Marys Sauk Prairie Sawyer Shealy Spencer Spring Lake Sundre Surrey Tatman Tolgen Torning Vang Waterford 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.
Education School districts include: - Text list Garrison Public School, District 51, Garrison Glenburn Public School, District 26, Glenburn Kenmare Public School, District 28, Kenmare Lewis and Clark Public School District, District 161, Berthold Max Public School, District 50, Max Minot Public Schools, District 1, Minot Nedrose Public School, District 4, Minot Sawyer Public School, District 16, Sawyer South Prairie Public School, District 70, Minot Surrey Public School, District 41, Surrey United Public School, District 7, Des Lacs Velva Public School, District 1, Velva
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Ward County, North Dakota
References
External links Ward County – official website Ward County Historical Society website Ward County maps, Sheet 1 (northwest), Sheet 2 (northeast), and Sheet 3 (southern), North Dakota DOT