List of counties in North Dakota

This is a list of counties in North Dakota. There are 53 counties in the U.S. state of North Dakota.

Counties of North Dakota
RD SG RM DK LM MI LO EM SX GR HE AD BO SL GV BI ST MO OL BH KI SM BA CS TL SE GS FO ED WE SH ML ME DN MK MT WL DV BU WD RE MH BT PC RL TN BE RA NE GF WS CV PE
Location	State of North Dakota
Number	53
Populations	628 (Slope) – 201,794 (Cass)
Areas	632 square miles (1,640 km2) (Eddy) – 2,742 square miles (7,100 km2) (McKenzie)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	Cities, towns, townships, unincorporated communities, Indian reservations, census-designated places

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry. North Dakota's code is 38, which when combined with any county code would be written as 38XXX. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county.

ND counties, shaded by population

List

County	FIPS code	County seat	Est.	Etymology	Population	Area	Map
Adams County	001	Hettinger	1885	John Quincy Adams (1848-1919), a railroad agent and cousin of the former president who was instrumental in having the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway built through North Dakota	2,275	988 sq mi (2,559 km2)
Barnes County	003	Valley City	1875	Dakota Territory judge Alanson H. Barnes (1818-1890)	10,573	1,492 sq mi (3,864 km2)
Benson County	005	Minnewaukan	1883	Dakota territorial legislator Bertil W. Benson	5,759	1,389 sq mi (3,597 km2)
Billings County	007	Medora	1879	Frederick H. Billings (1823–1890), who was president of the Northern Pacific Railroad	1,071	1,152 sq mi (2,984 km2)
Bottineau County	009	Bottineau	1873	Named for frontiersman Pierre Bottineau (1814-1895)	6,284	1,669 sq mi (4,323 km2)
Bowman County	011	Bowman	1883	Dakota territorial legislator Edward M. Bowman	2,762	1,162 sq mi (3,010 km2)
Burke County	013	Bowbells	1910	John Burke (1859-1937), tenth Governor of North Dakota	2,132	1,104 sq mi (2,859 km2)
Burleigh County	015	Bismarck	1873	Walter A. Burleigh (1820–1896), territorial delegate to Congress	103,251	1,633 sq mi (4,229 km2)
Cass County	017	Fargo	1873	George Washington Cass (1810–1888), who was the president of the Northern Pacific Railroad	201,794	1,766 sq mi (4,574 km2)
Cavalier County	019	Langdon	1873	Charles Cavalier (1818-1902), French fur trapper and one of the area's original settlers	3,497	1,489 sq mi (3,856 km2)
Dickey County	021	Ellendale	1881	Dakota territorial legislator George H. Dickey	4,895	1,131 sq mi (2,929 km2)
Divide County	023	Crosby	1910	Named because it was created upon the division of Williams County	2,110	1,259 sq mi (3,261 km2)
Dunn County	025	Manning	1883	John P. Dunn (1839-1917), an early civic leader of Bismarck, who opened the first drugstore in North Dakota	4,058	2,010 sq mi (5,206 km2)
Eddy County	027	New Rockford	1885	Ezra B. Eddy (1830-1855), a Fargo banker and one of the territory's wealthiest citizens	2,329	632 sq mi (1,637 km2)
Emmons County	029	Linton	1879	James Emmons (1845-1919), an early entrepreneur and businessman who operated the first steamboat across the Missouri River in Bismarck	3,215	1,510 sq mi (3,911 km2)
Foster County	031	Carrington	1873	Either James S. Foster (1828-1890) and George I. Foster (1837-1912), brother, and prominent farmers during the territorial days	3,212	635 sq mi (1,645 km2)
Golden Valley County	033	Beach	1912	Named for either promotional reasons or for the Golden Valley Land and Cattle Company	1,808	1,002 sq mi (2,595 km2)
Grand Forks County	035	Grand Forks	1873	Named for Grand Forks, North Dakota, which in turn was named for its location at the intersection of the Red Lake River and the Red River of the North	74,501	1,438 sq mi (3,724 km2)
Grant County	037	Carson	1916	Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), eighteenth U.S. President	2,206	1,660 sq mi (4,299 km2)
Griggs County	039	Cooperstown	1882	Alexander Griggs (1838-1903), a steamboat captain and founder of Grand Forks, North Dakota	2,239	708 sq mi (1,834 km2)
Hettinger County	041	Mott	1883	Mathias K. Hettinger (1810-1890), the father-in-law of Erastus A. Williams, the North Dakota Speaker of the House during that session	2,492	1,132 sq mi (2,932 km2)
Kidder County	043	Steele	1873	Jefferson Parrish Kidder (1816-1883), territorial delegate to the 44th Congress and 45th Congresses	2,393	1,352 sq mi (3,502 km2)
LaMoure County	045	LaMoure	1873	Dakota territorial legislator and North Dakota state legislator Judson LaMoure (1839-1918)	4,135	1,147 sq mi (2,971 km2)
Logan County	047	Napoleon	1873	Illinois U.S. Senator John A. Logan (1826–1886)	1,859	993 sq mi (2,572 km2)
McHenry County	049	Towner	1873	James McHenry (1835-1922), one of the area's original settlers	5,130	1,874 sq mi (4,854 km2)
McIntosh County	051	Ashley	1883	Edward H. McIntosh (1822-1901), a member of the Territorial Legislature	2,451	975 sq mi (2,525 km2)
McKenzie County	053	Watford City	1905	Alexander McKenzie (1851-1922), party boss known in the state as "the senator-maker"	15,192	2,742 sq mi (7,102 km2)
McLean County	055	Washburn	1883	John A. McLean (1849-1916), first mayor of Bismarck, North Dakota	9,740	2,110 sq mi (5,465 km2)
Mercer County	057	Stanton	1875	William Henry Harrison Mercer (1844-1901), an early settler	8,441	1,045 sq mi (2,707 km2)
Morton County	059	Mandan	1873	Governor of Indiana Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton	34,601	1,926 sq mi (4,988 km2)
Mountrail County	061	Stanley	1908	Joseph Mountraille, Metis voyageur and early explorer	9,395	1,824 sq mi (4,724 km2)
Nelson County	063	Lakota	1883	Dakota territorial legislator Nelson E. Nelson (1830-1913)	2,963	982 sq mi (2,543 km2)
Oliver County	065	Center	1885	Dakota territorial legislator Harry S. Oliver (1855-1909)	1,898	724 sq mi (1,875 km2)
Pembina County	067	Cavalier	1867	Named for the high-bush cranberries which grew wild in the area. Pembina may be from an Ojibwa phrase, anepeminan sipi, referring to the berries, as they grew in abundance around the Redberry River; it may also be from an Ojibwa word meaning meeting place. The name originally applied to the old Pembina Territory	6,568	1,119 sq mi (2,898 km2)
Pierce County	069	Rugby	1887	Gilbert Ashville Pierce (1839-1901), a Governor of Dakota Territory and later a U.S. Senator from North Dakota	3,838	1,018 sq mi (2,637 km2)
Ramsey County	071	Devils Lake	1873	Minnesota U.S. Senator Alexander Ramsey (1815-1903)	11,530	1,186 sq mi (3,072 km2)
Ransom County	073	Lisbon	1873	Named for locally situated Fort Ransom	5,617	863 sq mi (2,235 km2)
Renville County	075	Mohall	1910	Joseph Renville, missionary and interpreter for Dakota Native Americans	2,331	875 sq mi (2,266 km2)
Richland County	077	Wahpeton	1873	Morgan T. Rich (1832-1898), early settler	16,731	1,437 sq mi (3,722 km2)
Rolette County	079	Rolla	1873	Joseph Rolette, Jr. (1820–1871), a prominent fur trapper and local political organizer	11,688	902 sq mi (2,336 km2)
Sargent County	081	Forman	1883	Homer E. Sargent (1820-1900), a general manager of the Northern Pacific Railroad	3,711	859 sq mi (2,225 km2)
Sheridan County	083	McClusky	1873	American Civil War officer Philip Henry Sheridan (1831–1888)	1,296	972 sq mi (2,517 km2)
Sioux County	085	Fort Yates	1915	The Native American Sioux people	3,667	1,094 sq mi (2,833 km2)
Slope County	087	Amidon	1915	Topographical feature within the county known as the Missouri Slope	628	1,218 sq mi (3,155 km2)
Stark County	089	Dickinson	1879	George Stark (1823-1892), a vice president of the Northern Pacific Railroad	34,013	1,338 sq mi (3,465 km2)
Steele County	091	Finley	1883	Edward H. Steele (1846-1899), secretary-treasurer of the Red River Land Company	1,797	712 sq mi (1,844 km2)
Stutsman County	093	Jamestown	1873	Dakota Territorial Legislator Enos Stutsman (1826-1874)	21,414	2,222 sq mi (5,755 km2)
Towner County	095	Cando	1883	Dakota territorial legislator Oscar M. Towner (1842-1897)	2,040	1,025 sq mi (2,655 km2)
Traill County	097	Hillsboro	1875	Walter John Strickland Traill (1847-1932), early settler	7,920	862 sq mi (2,233 km2)
Walsh County	099	Grafton	1881	George H. Walsh (1868-1913), early settler and one of the founders of the University of North Dakota	10,179	1,282 sq mi (3,320 km2)
Ward County	101	Minot	1888	Dakota territorial legislator Mark Ward (1844–1902)	68,233	2,013 sq mi (5,214 km2)
Wells County	103	Fessenden	1873	Dakota territorial legislator Edward Payson Wells (1847-1936)	3,729	1,271 sq mi (3,292 km2)
Williams County	105	Williston	1890	Dakota territorial legislator Erastus Appelman Williams (1850-1930)	41,767	2,071 sq mi (5,364 km2)

See also

• Geography of North Dakota
• North Dakota Association of Counties

Further reading

• writer, Statf (2022). "NORTH DAKOTA COUNTY GOVERNMENT OVERVIEW" (PDF). ce.naco.org. National Association of Counties (NACo). Retrieved January 3, 2025.