Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation

Richland County had the highest annual precipitation of 53 counties in 2021, at 22.53 inches. Golden Valley County had the lowest, at 10.68 inches. The median was 15.14 inches and the figure for North Dakota was 15.63 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest22.53Richland County
Median15.1453 counties
North Dakota15.63History

Map of counties, 2021

Adams County: 14.67 inchesBarnes County: 19.67 inchesBenson County: 14.74 inchesBillings County: 11.85 inchesBottineau County: 14.42 inchesBowman County: 12.71 inchesBurke County: 14.73 inchesBurleigh County: 15.82 inchesCass County: 18.71 inchesCavalier County: 17.25 inchesDickey County: 21.83 inchesDivide County: 11.75 inchesDunn County: 13.82 inchesEddy County: 13.97 inchesEmmons County: 16.75 inchesFoster County: 14.4 inchesGolden Valley County: 10.68 inchesGrand Forks County: 17.91 inchesGrant County: 15.25 inchesGriggs County: 16.39 inchesHettinger County: 13.96 inchesKidder County: 17.01 inchesLaMoure County: 21.69 inchesLogan County: 17.86 inchesMcHenry County: 15.14 inchesMcIntosh County: 16.09 inchesMcKenzie County: 11.93 inchesMcLean County: 13.87 inchesMercer County: 14.55 inchesMorton County: 14.44 inchesMountrail County: 14.81 inchesNelson County: 16.37 inchesOliver County: 13.93 inchesPembina County: 18.34 inchesPierce County: 16.7 inchesRamsey County: 14.36 inchesRansom County: 21.02 inchesRenville County: 14.27 inchesRichland County: 22.53 inchesRolette County: 14.7 inchesSargent County: 21.4 inchesSheridan County: 16.51 inchesSioux County: 16.65 inchesSlope County: 12.03 inchesStark County: 14.34 inchesSteele County: 17.17 inchesStutsman County: 17.55 inchesTowner County: 14.22 inchesTraill County: 18.09 inchesWalsh County: 17.31 inchesWard County: 13.54 inchesWells County: 15.91 inchesWilliams County: 11.81 inches
  • Under 14
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  • 15 to 17
  • 17 to 18
  • 18 and over
inches, 2021. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2021

Richland County: 22.53 inchesRichland County22.53Dickey County: 21.83 inchesDickey County21.83LaMoure County: 21.69 inchesLaMoure County21.69Sargent County: 21.4 inchesSargent County21.4Ransom County: 21.02 inchesRansom County21.02Barnes County: 19.67 inchesBarnes County19.67Cass County: 18.71 inchesCass County18.71Pembina County: 18.34 inchesPembina County18.34Traill County: 18.09 inchesTraill County18.09Grand Forks County: 17.91 inchesGrand Forks County17.91Logan County: 17.86 inchesLogan County17.86Stutsman County: 17.55 inchesStutsman County17.55Walsh County: 17.31 inchesWalsh County17.31Cavalier County: 17.25 inchesCavalier County17.25Steele County: 17.17 inchesSteele County17.17Kidder County: 17.01 inchesKidder County17.01Emmons County: 16.75 inchesEmmons County16.75Pierce County: 16.7 inchesPierce County16.7Sioux County: 16.65 inchesSioux County16.65Sheridan County: 16.51 inchesSheridan County16.51Griggs County: 16.39 inchesGriggs County16.39Nelson County: 16.37 inchesNelson County16.37McIntosh County: 16.09 inchesMcIntosh County16.09Wells County: 15.91 inchesWells County15.91Burleigh County: 15.82 inchesBurleigh County15.82Grant County: 15.25 inchesGrant County15.25McHenry County: 15.14 inchesMcHenry County15.14Mountrail County: 14.81 inchesMountrail County14.81Benson County: 14.74 inchesBenson County14.74Burke County: 14.73 inchesBurke County14.73Rolette County: 14.7 inchesRolette County14.7Adams County: 14.67 inchesAdams County14.67Mercer County: 14.55 inchesMercer County14.55Morton County: 14.44 inchesMorton County14.44Bottineau County: 14.42 inchesBottineau County14.42Foster County: 14.4 inchesFoster County14.4Ramsey County: 14.36 inchesRamsey County14.36Stark County: 14.34 inchesStark County14.34Renville County: 14.27 inchesRenville County14.27Towner County: 14.22 inchesTowner County14.22Eddy County: 13.97 inchesEddy County13.97Hettinger County: 13.96 inchesHettinger County13.96Oliver County: 13.93 inchesOliver County13.93McLean County: 13.87 inchesMcLean County13.87Dunn County: 13.82 inchesDunn County13.82Ward County: 13.54 inchesWard County13.54Bowman County: 12.71 inchesBowman County12.71Slope County: 12.03 inchesSlope County12.03McKenzie County: 11.93 inchesMcKenzie County11.93Billings County: 11.85 inchesBillings County11.85Williams County: 11.81 inchesWilliams County11.81Divide County: 11.75 inchesDivide County11.75Golden Valley County: 10.68 inchesGolden Valley County10.68Richland County: 22.53 inchesRichland County22.53Dickey County: 21.83 inchesDickey County21.83LaMoure County: 21.69 inchesLaMoure County21.69Sargent County: 21.4 inchesSargent County21.4Ransom County: 21.02 inchesRansom County21.02Barnes County: 19.67 inchesBarnes County19.67Cass County: 18.71 inchesCass County18.71Pembina County: 18.34 inchesPembina County18.34Traill County: 18.09 inchesTraill County18.09Grand Forks County: 17.91 inchesGrand Forks County17.91Logan County: 17.86 inchesLogan County17.86Stutsman County: 17.55 inchesStutsman County17.55Walsh County: 17.31 inchesWalsh County17.31Cavalier County: 17.25 inchesCavalier County17.25Steele County: 17.17 inchesSteele County17.17Kidder County: 17.01 inchesKidder County17.01Emmons County: 16.75 inchesEmmons County16.75Pierce County: 16.7 inchesPierce County16.7Sioux County: 16.65 inchesSioux County16.65Sheridan County: 16.51 inchesSheridan County16.51Griggs County: 16.39 inchesGriggs County16.39Nelson County: 16.37 inchesNelson County16.37McIntosh County: 16.09 inchesMcIntosh County16.09Wells County: 15.91 inchesWells County15.91Burleigh County: 15.82 inchesBurleigh County15.82Grant County: 15.25 inchesGrant County15.25McHenry County: 15.14 inchesMcHenry County15.14Mountrail County: 14.81 inchesMountrail County14.81Benson County: 14.74 inchesBenson County14.74Burke County: 14.73 inchesBurke County14.73Rolette County: 14.7 inchesRolette County14.7Adams County: 14.67 inchesAdams County14.67Mercer County: 14.55 inchesMercer County14.55Morton County: 14.44 inchesMorton County14.44Bottineau County: 14.42 inchesBottineau County14.42Foster County: 14.4 inchesFoster County14.4Ramsey County: 14.36 inchesRamsey County14.36Stark County: 14.34 inchesStark County14.34Renville County: 14.27 inchesRenville County14.27Towner County: 14.22 inchesTowner County14.22Eddy County: 13.97 inchesEddy County13.97Hettinger County: 13.96 inchesHettinger County13.96Oliver County: 13.93 inchesOliver County13.93McLean County: 13.87 inchesMcLean County13.87Dunn County: 13.82 inchesDunn County13.82Ward County: 13.54 inchesWard County13.54Bowman County: 12.71 inchesBowman County12.71Slope County: 12.03 inchesSlope County12.03McKenzie County: 11.93 inchesMcKenzie County11.93Billings County: 11.85 inchesBillings County11.85Williams County: 11.81 inchesWilliams County11.81Divide County: 11.75 inchesDivide County11.75Golden Valley County: 10.68 inchesGolden Valley County10.68
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
inches
Change on 2020
1Richland County22.53+12%
2Dickey County21.83+0.5%
3LaMoure County21.69+12%
4Sargent County21.4+8.4%
5Ransom County21.02+1%
6Barnes County19.67+9.2%
7Cass County18.71-6.1%
8Pembina County18.34+7.6%
9Traill County18.09-0.2%
10Grand Forks County17.91-3.6%
11Logan County17.86+35.7%
12Stutsman County17.55+29.9%
13Walsh County17.31-3.9%
14Cavalier County17.25+15.5%
15Steele County17.17+4.6%
16Kidder County17.01+46.9%
17Emmons County16.75+43.3%
18Pierce County16.7+61%
19Sioux County16.65+41.9%
20Sheridan County16.51+49.8%
21Griggs County16.39+6.1%
22Nelson County16.37-5.4%
23McIntosh County16.09+4.3%
24Wells County15.91+60.4%
25Burleigh County15.82+51.5%
26Grant County15.25+42.9%
27McHenry County15.14+38.1%
28Mountrail County14.81+49.9%
29Benson County14.74+33.5%
30Burke County14.73+39.9%
31Rolette County14.7+37.4%
32Adams County14.67+37.2%
33Mercer County14.55+28.9%
34Morton County14.44+44.7%
35Bottineau County14.42+19.9%
36Foster County14.4+13.7%
37Ramsey County14.36-5.4%
38Stark County14.34+33.6%
39Renville County14.27+25.9%
40Towner County14.22+22.1%
41Eddy County13.97+13.7%
42Hettinger County13.96+22.7%
43Oliver County13.93+33.9%
44McLean County13.87+30.1%
45Dunn County13.82+14.5%
46Ward County13.54+25.4%
47Bowman County12.71+15%
48Slope County12.03+8.6%
49McKenzie County11.93+32.3%
50Billings County11.85+11.7%
51Williams County11.81+50.4%
52Divide County11.75+29.4%
53Golden Valley County10.68-9%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_north_dakota_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-dakota-counties?period=2021.
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?

Richland County, with 22.53 inches in 2021, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Golden Valley County, with 10.68 inches in 2021.

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