Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation

Sargent County had the highest annual precipitation of 53 counties in 2019, at 31.84 inches. Towner County had the lowest, at 18.25 inches. The median was 23.65 inches and the figure for North Dakota was 24.39 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest31.84Sargent County
Lowest18.25Towner County
Median23.6553 counties
North Dakota24.39History

Map of counties, 2019

Adams County: 21.16 inchesBarnes County: 28.81 inchesBenson County: 21.39 inchesBillings County: 22.07 inchesBottineau County: 20.54 inchesBowman County: 21.98 inchesBurke County: 21.79 inchesBurleigh County: 25.55 inchesCass County: 29.83 inchesCavalier County: 21.58 inchesDickey County: 30.31 inchesDivide County: 20.4 inchesDunn County: 22.38 inchesEddy County: 25.79 inchesEmmons County: 27.69 inchesFoster County: 26.25 inchesGolden Valley County: 23.38 inchesGrand Forks County: 29.19 inchesGrant County: 25.17 inchesGriggs County: 28.85 inchesHettinger County: 23.65 inchesKidder County: 28.34 inchesLaMoure County: 30.58 inchesLogan County: 30.28 inchesMcHenry County: 21.19 inchesMcIntosh County: 30.69 inchesMcKenzie County: 20.55 inchesMcLean County: 21.52 inchesMercer County: 21.31 inchesMorton County: 24.35 inchesMountrail County: 22.7 inchesNelson County: 27.33 inchesOliver County: 21.07 inchesPembina County: 22.5 inchesPierce County: 19.43 inchesRamsey County: 23.16 inchesRansom County: 29.55 inchesRenville County: 20.98 inchesRichland County: 30.56 inchesRolette County: 18.32 inchesSargent County: 31.84 inchesSheridan County: 25.83 inchesSioux County: 27.16 inchesSlope County: 22.42 inchesStark County: 22.49 inchesSteele County: 30.21 inchesStutsman County: 27.44 inchesTowner County: 18.25 inchesTraill County: 31.46 inchesWalsh County: 24.91 inchesWard County: 21.36 inchesWells County: 24.21 inchesWilliams County: 19.74 inches
  • Under 21
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  • 24 to 27
  • 27 to 30
  • 30 and over
inches, 2019. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2019

Sargent County: 31.84 inchesSargent County31.84Traill County: 31.46 inchesTraill County31.46McIntosh County: 30.69 inchesMcIntosh County30.69LaMoure County: 30.58 inchesLaMoure County30.58Richland County: 30.56 inchesRichland County30.56Dickey County: 30.31 inchesDickey County30.31Logan County: 30.28 inchesLogan County30.28Steele County: 30.21 inchesSteele County30.21Cass County: 29.83 inchesCass County29.83Ransom County: 29.55 inchesRansom County29.55Grand Forks County: 29.19 inchesGrand Forks County29.19Griggs County: 28.85 inchesGriggs County28.85Barnes County: 28.81 inchesBarnes County28.81Kidder County: 28.34 inchesKidder County28.34Emmons County: 27.69 inchesEmmons County27.69Stutsman County: 27.44 inchesStutsman County27.44Nelson County: 27.33 inchesNelson County27.33Sioux County: 27.16 inchesSioux County27.16Foster County: 26.25 inchesFoster County26.25Sheridan County: 25.83 inchesSheridan County25.83Eddy County: 25.79 inchesEddy County25.79Burleigh County: 25.55 inchesBurleigh County25.55Grant County: 25.17 inchesGrant County25.17Walsh County: 24.91 inchesWalsh County24.91Morton County: 24.35 inchesMorton County24.35Wells County: 24.21 inchesWells County24.21Hettinger County: 23.65 inchesHettinger County23.65Golden Valley County: 23.38 inchesGolden Valley County23.38Ramsey County: 23.16 inchesRamsey County23.16Mountrail County: 22.7 inchesMountrail County22.7Pembina County: 22.5 inchesPembina County22.5Stark County: 22.49 inchesStark County22.49Slope County: 22.42 inchesSlope County22.42Dunn County: 22.38 inchesDunn County22.38Billings County: 22.07 inchesBillings County22.07Bowman County: 21.98 inchesBowman County21.98Burke County: 21.79 inchesBurke County21.79Cavalier County: 21.58 inchesCavalier County21.58McLean County: 21.52 inchesMcLean County21.52Benson County: 21.39 inchesBenson County21.39Ward County: 21.36 inchesWard County21.36Mercer County: 21.31 inchesMercer County21.31McHenry County: 21.19 inchesMcHenry County21.19Adams County: 21.16 inchesAdams County21.16Oliver County: 21.07 inchesOliver County21.07Renville County: 20.98 inchesRenville County20.98McKenzie County: 20.55 inchesMcKenzie County20.55Bottineau County: 20.54 inchesBottineau County20.54Divide County: 20.4 inchesDivide County20.4Williams County: 19.74 inchesWilliams County19.74Pierce County: 19.43 inchesPierce County19.43Rolette County: 18.32 inchesRolette County18.32Towner County: 18.25 inchesTowner County18.25Sargent County: 31.84 inchesSargent County31.84Traill County: 31.46 inchesTraill County31.46McIntosh County: 30.69 inchesMcIntosh County30.69LaMoure County: 30.58 inchesLaMoure County30.58Richland County: 30.56 inchesRichland County30.56Dickey County: 30.31 inchesDickey County30.31Logan County: 30.28 inchesLogan County30.28Steele County: 30.21 inchesSteele County30.21Cass County: 29.83 inchesCass County29.83Ransom County: 29.55 inchesRansom County29.55Grand Forks County: 29.19 inchesGrand Forks County29.19Griggs County: 28.85 inchesGriggs County28.85Barnes County: 28.81 inchesBarnes County28.81Kidder County: 28.34 inchesKidder County28.34Emmons County: 27.69 inchesEmmons County27.69Stutsman County: 27.44 inchesStutsman County27.44Nelson County: 27.33 inchesNelson County27.33Sioux County: 27.16 inchesSioux County27.16Foster County: 26.25 inchesFoster County26.25Sheridan County: 25.83 inchesSheridan County25.83Eddy County: 25.79 inchesEddy County25.79Burleigh County: 25.55 inchesBurleigh County25.55Grant County: 25.17 inchesGrant County25.17Walsh County: 24.91 inchesWalsh County24.91Morton County: 24.35 inchesMorton County24.35Wells County: 24.21 inchesWells County24.21Hettinger County: 23.65 inchesHettinger County23.65Golden Valley County: 23.38 inchesGolden Valley County23.38Ramsey County: 23.16 inchesRamsey County23.16Mountrail County: 22.7 inchesMountrail County22.7Pembina County: 22.5 inchesPembina County22.5Stark County: 22.49 inchesStark County22.49Slope County: 22.42 inchesSlope County22.42Dunn County: 22.38 inchesDunn County22.38Billings County: 22.07 inchesBillings County22.07Bowman County: 21.98 inchesBowman County21.98Burke County: 21.79 inchesBurke County21.79Cavalier County: 21.58 inchesCavalier County21.58McLean County: 21.52 inchesMcLean County21.52Benson County: 21.39 inchesBenson County21.39Ward County: 21.36 inchesWard County21.36Mercer County: 21.31 inchesMercer County21.31McHenry County: 21.19 inchesMcHenry County21.19Adams County: 21.16 inchesAdams County21.16Oliver County: 21.07 inchesOliver County21.07Renville County: 20.98 inchesRenville County20.98McKenzie County: 20.55 inchesMcKenzie County20.55Bottineau County: 20.54 inchesBottineau County20.54Divide County: 20.4 inchesDivide County20.4Williams County: 19.74 inchesWilliams County19.74Pierce County: 19.43 inchesPierce County19.43Rolette County: 18.32 inchesRolette County18.32Towner County: 18.25 inchesTowner County18.25
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2019
inches
Change on 2018
1Sargent County31.84+46.1%
2Traill County31.46+47.3%
3McIntosh County30.69+41.8%
4LaMoure County30.58+29.7%
5Richland County30.56+35.1%
6Dickey County30.31+30.9%
7Logan County30.28+36.4%
8Steele County30.21+51.1%
9Cass County29.83+35.8%
10Ransom County29.55+36.4%
11Grand Forks County29.19+43.3%
12Griggs County28.85+47.3%
13Barnes County28.81+23.8%
14Kidder County28.34+33.6%
15Emmons County27.69+49%
16Stutsman County27.44+26.8%
17Nelson County27.33+58.1%
18Sioux County27.16+50.9%
19Foster County26.25+59.9%
20Sheridan County25.83+46.3%
21Eddy County25.79+69.9%
22Burleigh County25.55+36.6%
23Grant County25.17+49.6%
24Walsh County24.91+45%
25Morton County24.35+40.9%
26Wells County24.21+57.1%
27Hettinger County23.65+42.6%
28Golden Valley County23.38+47.1%
29Ramsey County23.16+47.3%
30Mountrail County22.7+52.2%
31Pembina County22.5+50.4%
32Stark County22.49+37.9%
33Slope County22.42+32.4%
34Dunn County22.38+37.6%
35Billings County22.07+39.9%
36Bowman County21.98+33.1%
37Burke County21.79+34.8%
38Cavalier County21.58+38.5%
39McLean County21.52+17.1%
40Benson County21.39+40.7%
41Ward County21.36+45.9%
42Mercer County21.31+16.3%
43McHenry County21.19+37.4%
44Adams County21.16+49.1%
45Oliver County21.07+16.6%
46Renville County20.98+41.1%
47McKenzie County20.55+29.4%
48Bottineau County20.54+30.7%
49Divide County20.4+36.6%
50Williams County19.74+32.8%
51Pierce County19.43+25.1%
52Rolette County18.32+5.5%
53Towner County18.25+7.9%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total precipitation from January to December, in inches: rain plus the water content of snow and other frozen precipitation. NOAA computes it from its climate divisional dataset (nClimDiv): station readings interpolated onto a 5 km grid and averaged over the area.

Values are area averages, not the reading at one weather station. NOAA revises the last two years every month.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties (Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation, 2019. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-dakota-counties?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-dakota-counties?period=2019.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-dakota-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_north_dakota_2019,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation, 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-dakota-counties?period=2019. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI  - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation, 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
PB  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-dakota-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-dakota-counties?period=2019.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Sargent County, with 31.84 inches in 2019, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Towner County, with 18.25 inches in 2019.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Annual precipitation: other rankings

Counties in North Dakota: more rankings