Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation

Richland County had the highest annual precipitation of 53 counties in 2023, at 24.32 inches. Rolette County had the lowest, at 10.91 inches. The median was 17.89 inches and the figure for North Dakota was 17.45 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest24.32Richland County
Lowest10.91Rolette County
Median17.8953 counties
North Dakota17.45History

Map of counties, 2023

Adams County: 19.11 inchesBarnes County: 21.19 inchesBenson County: 16.53 inchesBillings County: 16.83 inchesBottineau County: 12.23 inchesBowman County: 17.89 inchesBurke County: 13.85 inchesBurleigh County: 20.25 inchesCass County: 19.8 inchesCavalier County: 12.54 inchesDickey County: 24.27 inchesDivide County: 11.57 inchesDunn County: 15.97 inchesEddy County: 16.06 inchesEmmons County: 21.93 inchesFoster County: 16.66 inchesGolden Valley County: 18.82 inchesGrand Forks County: 16.63 inchesGrant County: 21.46 inchesGriggs County: 18.72 inchesHettinger County: 19.22 inchesKidder County: 19.93 inchesLaMoure County: 23.03 inchesLogan County: 21.9 inchesMcHenry County: 14.24 inchesMcIntosh County: 22.54 inchesMcKenzie County: 14.12 inchesMcLean County: 16.55 inchesMercer County: 18.01 inchesMorton County: 20.97 inchesMountrail County: 13.31 inchesNelson County: 17.47 inchesOliver County: 19.21 inchesPembina County: 13.03 inchesPierce County: 14.22 inchesRamsey County: 16.39 inchesRansom County: 22.32 inchesRenville County: 11.93 inchesRichland County: 24.32 inchesRolette County: 10.91 inchesSargent County: 23.07 inchesSheridan County: 18.99 inchesSioux County: 21.93 inchesSlope County: 18.39 inchesStark County: 18.47 inchesSteele County: 17.28 inchesStutsman County: 20.05 inchesTowner County: 11.37 inchesTraill County: 17.5 inchesWalsh County: 15.48 inchesWard County: 13.88 inchesWells County: 17.93 inchesWilliams County: 14.35 inches
  • Under 14
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  • 22 and over
inches, 2023. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2023

Richland County: 24.32 inchesRichland County24.32Dickey County: 24.27 inchesDickey County24.27Sargent County: 23.07 inchesSargent County23.07LaMoure County: 23.03 inchesLaMoure County23.03McIntosh County: 22.54 inchesMcIntosh County22.54Ransom County: 22.32 inchesRansom County22.32Emmons County: 21.93 inchesEmmons County21.93Sioux County: 21.93 inchesSioux County21.93Logan County: 21.9 inchesLogan County21.9Grant County: 21.46 inchesGrant County21.46Barnes County: 21.19 inchesBarnes County21.19Morton County: 20.97 inchesMorton County20.97Burleigh County: 20.25 inchesBurleigh County20.25Stutsman County: 20.05 inchesStutsman County20.05Kidder County: 19.93 inchesKidder County19.93Cass County: 19.8 inchesCass County19.8Hettinger County: 19.22 inchesHettinger County19.22Oliver County: 19.21 inchesOliver County19.21Adams County: 19.11 inchesAdams County19.11Sheridan County: 18.99 inchesSheridan County18.99Golden Valley County: 18.82 inchesGolden Valley County18.82Griggs County: 18.72 inchesGriggs County18.72Stark County: 18.47 inchesStark County18.47Slope County: 18.39 inchesSlope County18.39Mercer County: 18.01 inchesMercer County18.01Wells County: 17.93 inchesWells County17.93Bowman County: 17.89 inchesBowman County17.89Traill County: 17.5 inchesTraill County17.5Nelson County: 17.47 inchesNelson County17.47Steele County: 17.28 inchesSteele County17.28Billings County: 16.83 inchesBillings County16.83Foster County: 16.66 inchesFoster County16.66Grand Forks County: 16.63 inchesGrand Forks County16.63McLean County: 16.55 inchesMcLean County16.55Benson County: 16.53 inchesBenson County16.53Ramsey County: 16.39 inchesRamsey County16.39Eddy County: 16.06 inchesEddy County16.06Dunn County: 15.97 inchesDunn County15.97Walsh County: 15.48 inchesWalsh County15.48Williams County: 14.35 inchesWilliams County14.35McHenry County: 14.24 inchesMcHenry County14.24Pierce County: 14.22 inchesPierce County14.22McKenzie County: 14.12 inchesMcKenzie County14.12Ward County: 13.88 inchesWard County13.88Burke County: 13.85 inchesBurke County13.85Mountrail County: 13.31 inchesMountrail County13.31Pembina County: 13.03 inchesPembina County13.03Cavalier County: 12.54 inchesCavalier County12.54Bottineau County: 12.23 inchesBottineau County12.23Renville County: 11.93 inchesRenville County11.93Divide County: 11.57 inchesDivide County11.57Towner County: 11.37 inchesTowner County11.37Rolette County: 10.91 inchesRolette County10.91Richland County: 24.32 inchesRichland County24.32Dickey County: 24.27 inchesDickey County24.27Sargent County: 23.07 inchesSargent County23.07LaMoure County: 23.03 inchesLaMoure County23.03McIntosh County: 22.54 inchesMcIntosh County22.54Ransom County: 22.32 inchesRansom County22.32Emmons County: 21.93 inchesEmmons County21.93Sioux County: 21.93 inchesSioux County21.93Logan County: 21.9 inchesLogan County21.9Grant County: 21.46 inchesGrant County21.46Barnes County: 21.19 inchesBarnes County21.19Morton County: 20.97 inchesMorton County20.97Burleigh County: 20.25 inchesBurleigh County20.25Stutsman County: 20.05 inchesStutsman County20.05Kidder County: 19.93 inchesKidder County19.93Cass County: 19.8 inchesCass County19.8Hettinger County: 19.22 inchesHettinger County19.22Oliver County: 19.21 inchesOliver County19.21Adams County: 19.11 inchesAdams County19.11Sheridan County: 18.99 inchesSheridan County18.99Golden Valley County: 18.82 inchesGolden Valley County18.82Griggs County: 18.72 inchesGriggs County18.72Stark County: 18.47 inchesStark County18.47Slope County: 18.39 inchesSlope County18.39Mercer County: 18.01 inchesMercer County18.01Wells County: 17.93 inchesWells County17.93Bowman County: 17.89 inchesBowman County17.89Traill County: 17.5 inchesTraill County17.5Nelson County: 17.47 inchesNelson County17.47Steele County: 17.28 inchesSteele County17.28Billings County: 16.83 inchesBillings County16.83Foster County: 16.66 inchesFoster County16.66Grand Forks County: 16.63 inchesGrand Forks County16.63McLean County: 16.55 inchesMcLean County16.55Benson County: 16.53 inchesBenson County16.53Ramsey County: 16.39 inchesRamsey County16.39Eddy County: 16.06 inchesEddy County16.06Dunn County: 15.97 inchesDunn County15.97Walsh County: 15.48 inchesWalsh County15.48Williams County: 14.35 inchesWilliams County14.35McHenry County: 14.24 inchesMcHenry County14.24Pierce County: 14.22 inchesPierce County14.22McKenzie County: 14.12 inchesMcKenzie County14.12Ward County: 13.88 inchesWard County13.88Burke County: 13.85 inchesBurke County13.85Mountrail County: 13.31 inchesMountrail County13.31Pembina County: 13.03 inchesPembina County13.03Cavalier County: 12.54 inchesCavalier County12.54Bottineau County: 12.23 inchesBottineau County12.23Renville County: 11.93 inchesRenville County11.93Divide County: 11.57 inchesDivide County11.57Towner County: 11.37 inchesTowner County11.37Rolette County: 10.91 inchesRolette County10.91
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
inches
Change on 2022
1Richland County24.32+12.6%
2Dickey County24.27+0.3%
3Sargent County23.07+7.5%
4LaMoure County23.03-2%
5McIntosh County22.54+14.6%
6Ransom County22.32-3.1%
7Emmons County21.93+32.4%
7Sioux County21.93+38.1%
9Logan County21.9+15%
10Grant County21.46+28.1%
11Barnes County21.19-3.6%
12Morton County20.97+21.8%
13Burleigh County20.25+23.6%
14Stutsman County20.05+2.8%
15Kidder County19.93+14.9%
16Cass County19.8-10.3%
17Hettinger County19.22+16.1%
18Oliver County19.21+11.3%
19Adams County19.11+37.8%
20Sheridan County18.99+15.6%
21Golden Valley County18.82+4.8%
22Griggs County18.72-9.3%
23Stark County18.47+1.5%
24Slope County18.39+15.4%
25Mercer County18.01+7.7%
26Wells County17.93+17.3%
27Bowman County17.89+20.1%
28Traill County17.5-25.7%
29Nelson County17.47-23.4%
30Steele County17.28-25.5%
31Billings County16.83-11%
32Foster County16.66-2.5%
33Grand Forks County16.63-30.2%
34McLean County16.55-5.4%
35Benson County16.53+0.8%
36Ramsey County16.39-17.2%
37Eddy County16.06-4.9%
38Dunn County15.97-14.8%
39Walsh County15.48-37.7%
40Williams County14.35-16.3%
41McHenry County14.24-12%
42Pierce County14.22-9.4%
43McKenzie County14.12-22%
44Ward County13.88-20%
45Burke County13.85-31.8%
46Mountrail County13.31-30.7%
47Pembina County13.03-50.6%
48Cavalier County12.54-48.3%
49Bottineau County12.23-28.8%
50Renville County11.93-31.9%
51Divide County11.57-28.7%
52Towner County11.37-36.7%
53Rolette County10.91-37.6%

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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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=2023. 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, 2023. 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=2023.

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, 2023 [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=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_north_dakota_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-dakota-counties?period=2023.
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 24.32 inches in 2023, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Rolette County, with 10.91 inches in 2023.

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