Williams County, North Dakota

Williams County population, land area and income

Williams County had 40,763 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 2,077.6 square miles of land. It ranks 5th of 53 in North Dakota by population and 4th by land area. That works out to 19.6 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in North Dakota has 3,853 residents, so Williams County is 10.6 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $92,537 is in the top tenth among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Williams County's population changed since 2020

Williams County lost 426 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 1.0%. That ranks 25th of 53 in North Dakota for growth. The median North Dakota county changed by -1.3%, and the state as a whole by +2.2%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Williams County recorded 2,823 births and 1,048 deaths, a natural change of +1,775. Net international migration added +629 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -2,440. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 2,440 people.

Where Williams County is

The Census internal point of Williams County is at 48.355800, -103.501300. It sits in UTM zone 13N. The map shades North Dakota's 53 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Williams County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Williams County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Williams County, 30,998 people together, or 76% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Williams County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Williston with 28,821.

Counties bordering Williams County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Williams County, including 3 across a state line. The most populous is McKenzie County, ND, with 14,782 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• McKenzie County

  14,782 people

  43 mi S

• MT

  Richland County, MT

  11,028 people

  63 mi SW

• MT

  Roosevelt County, MT

  10,197 people

  69 mi W

• Mountrail County

  9,474 people

  53 mi E

• MT

  Sheridan County, MT

  3,448 people

  53 mi WNW

• Burke County

  2,154 people

  54 mi NE

• Divide County

  2,124 people

  32 mi N

Distance to Bismarck and the nearest big city

Bismarck is 165.2 miles SE of Williams County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Billings, MT (population 121,483), 296.5 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Williston, ND (population 28,821), 13.4 miles away.

Williams County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Williams County is 38105: state code 38 for North Dakota plus county code 105. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $92,537.