Counties in North Dakota by population

Cass County had the highest population of 53 counties in 2021, at 189,328. Slope County had the lowest, at 688. The median was 3,954 and the figure for North Dakota was 777,977. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest189,328Cass County
Lowest688Slope County
Median3,95453 counties
North Dakota777,977History

All counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Cass CountyCass County: 189,328 persons189,328Burleigh CountyBurleigh County: 99,370 persons99,370Grand Forks CountyGrand Forks County: 72,422 persons72,422Ward CountyWard County: 69,287 persons69,287Williams CountyWilliams County: 38,508 persons38,508Morton CountyMorton County: 33,590 persons33,590Stark CountyStark County: 33,037 persons33,037Stutsman CountyStutsman County: 21,592 persons21,592Richland CountyRichland County: 16,546 persons16,546McKenzie CountyMcKenzie County: 13,858 persons13,858Rolette CountyRolette County: 12,040 persons12,040Ramsey CountyRamsey County: 11,610 persons11,610Barnes CountyBarnes County: 10,731 persons10,731Walsh CountyWalsh County: 10,488 persons10,488McLean CountyMcLean County: 9,832 persons9,832Mountrail CountyMountrail County: 9,571 persons9,571Mercer CountyMercer County: 8,337 persons8,337Traill CountyTraill County: 7,977 persons7,977Pembina CountyPembina County: 6,766 persons6,766Bottineau CountyBottineau County: 6,424 persons6,424Benson CountyBenson County: 5,771 persons5,771Ransom CountyRansom County: 5,683 persons5,683McHenry CountyMcHenry County: 5,241 persons5,241Dickey CountyDickey County: 4,910 persons4,910LaMoure CountyLaMoure County: 4,054 persons4,054Dunn CountyDunn County: 4,007 persons4,007Pierce CountyPierce County: 3,954 persons3,954Wells CountyWells County: 3,893 persons3,893Sargent CountySargent County: 3,848 persons3,848Sioux CountySioux County: 3,739 persons3,739Cavalier CountyCavalier County: 3,678 persons3,678Foster CountyFoster County: 3,361 persons3,361Emmons CountyEmmons County: 3,269 persons3,269Nelson CountyNelson County: 3,042 persons3,042Bowman CountyBowman County: 2,893 persons2,893McIntosh CountyMcIntosh County: 2,516 persons2,516Hettinger CountyHettinger County: 2,444 persons2,444Kidder CountyKidder County: 2,355 persons2,355Eddy CountyEddy County: 2,320 persons2,320Grant CountyGrant County: 2,297 persons2,297Griggs CountyGriggs County: 2,288 persons2,288Renville CountyRenville County: 2,256 persons2,256Divide CountyDivide County: 2,178 persons2,178Adams CountyAdams County: 2,169 persons2,169Burke CountyBurke County: 2,151 persons2,151Towner CountyTowner County: 2,123 persons2,123Oliver CountyOliver County: 1,873 persons1,873Logan CountyLogan County: 1,864 persons1,864Steele CountySteele County: 1,812 persons1,812Golden Valley CountyGolden Valley County: 1,763 persons1,763Sheridan CountySheridan County: 1,264 persons1,264Billings CountyBillings County: 959 persons959Slope CountySlope County: 688 persons688
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
persons
Change on 2020
1Cass County189,328+2.4%
2Burleigh County99,370+0.8%
3Grand Forks County72,422-1%
4Ward County69,287-0.9%
5Williams County38,508-6.5%
6Morton County33,590+0.8%
7Stark County33,037-2.3%
8Stutsman County21,592+0.2%
9Richland County16,5460%
10McKenzie County13,858-6.2%
11Rolette County12,040-1.2%
12Ramsey County11,610+0.3%
13Barnes County10,731-1.2%
14Walsh County10,488-0.4%
15McLean County9,832+0.7%
16Mountrail County9,571-2.4%
17Mercer County8,337-0.1%
18Traill County7,977-0.1%
19Pembina County6,766-0.9%
20Bottineau County6,424+0.6%
21Benson County5,771-2.8%
22Ransom County5,683-0.3%
23McHenry County5,241-1.8%
24Dickey County4,910-1.2%
25LaMoure County4,054-1%
26Dunn County4,007-2.1%
27Pierce County3,954-0.7%
28Wells County3,893-1.8%
29Sargent County3,848+0.2%
30Sioux County3,739-3.5%
31Cavalier County3,678-0.5%
32Foster County3,361-0.7%
33Emmons County3,269-0.8%
34Nelson County3,042+1.6%
35Bowman County2,893-2.7%
36McIntosh County2,516+0.1%
37Hettinger County2,444-1.6%
38Kidder County2,355-1.1%
39Eddy County2,320-0.3%
40Grant County2,297+0.5%
41Griggs County2,288-0.4%
42Renville County2,256-0.4%
43Divide County2,178-1.1%
44Adams County2,169-1.1%
45Burke County2,151-1.8%
46Towner County2,123-1.1%
47Oliver County1,873+0.4%
48Logan County1,864-1%
49Steele County1,812+0.8%
50Golden Valley County1,763+2.2%
51Sheridan County1,264+0.2%
52Billings County959+3.1%
53Slope County688-1.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (PadrĂ³n). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

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

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest population?

Cass County, with 189,328 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Slope County, with 688 in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

Counties in North Dakota: more rankings