Wells County, North Dakota

Wells County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,982, and was estimated to be 3,729 in 2025.

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873. Its government was not organized at that time, nor was it attached for administrative or judicial purposes to another county. It was named Gingras County; this name continued until February 26, 1881, when the name was changed to Wells County, named for Edward Payson Wells, a Jamestown banker, early promoter of the James River Valley, and member of the legislature in 1881.

The county government was organized on August 28, 1884, with Sykeston as the county seat. In 1894 the county seat was transferred to Fessendon. The county boundary was altered in 1883 when a parcel was transferred to Foster County and again in 1885 when it received land from Foster County. Its boundary has remained unchanged since 1885.

The center of population of North Dakota is located in the extreme southeastern corner of Wells County, about southeast of Sykeston.

thumb|Outline map of Wells County, North Dakota, 1911

Geography

The James River flows east-northeasterly through Wells County. The county terrain consists of rolling hills with occasional protuberances, dotted with lakes and ponds in its SW portion. The terrain slopes to the east and north; its highest point is a protuberance near the southwestern corner, at ASL.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.53%) is water. It is the 23rd largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Major highways

25px U.S. Highway 52
25px North Dakota Highway 3
25px North Dakota Highway 15
25px North Dakota Highway 30
25px North Dakota Highway 91
25px North Dakota Highway 200
County 1

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|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 1,808 estimated households in Wells County with an average of 2.12 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $61,346. Approximately 12.1% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Wells County has an estimated 59.6% employment rate, with 22.3% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 91.8% holding a high school diploma.

The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (97.5%), Spanish (0.9%), Indo-European (1.2%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.3%), and Other (0.1%).

The median age in the county was 47.9 years.

Wells County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size: 95%;"

! Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic)

! Pop. 1980 !! Pop. 1990 !! Pop. 2000 !! Pop. 2010 !!

| White alone (NH)

| 6,949 (99.57%) || 5,846 (99.69%) || 5,044 (98.86%) || 4,143 (98.48%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |3,784 (95.03%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 0 (0.00%) || 2 (0.03%) || 7 (0.14%) || 3 (0.07%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |18 (0.45%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 7 (0.10%) || 6 (0.10%) || 12 (0.24%) || 13 (0.31%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |17 (0.43%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 3 (0.04%) || 3 (0.05%) || 12 (0.24%) || 4 (0.10%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |12 (0.30%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |0 (0.00%)

| Other race alone (NH)

| 1 (0.01%) || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |4 (0.10%)

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 12 (0.24%) || 23 (0.55%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |109 (2.74%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 19 (0.27%) || 7 (0.12%) || 15 (0.29%) || 21 (0.50%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |38 (0.95%)

| Total

| 6,979 (100.00%) || 5,864 (100.00%) || 5,102 (100.00%) || 4,207 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |3,982 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 3,803 people and 1,808 households residing in the county. There were 2,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% White (95.7% NH White), 0.2% African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.7% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 3,982 people, 1,852 households, and 1,107 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 2,338 housing units at an average density of .

Of the residents, 20.1% were under the age of 18 and 28.6% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 52.4 years. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.1 males. Of the 1,852 households, 20.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 24.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 4,207 people, 1,943 households, and 1,223 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 2,481 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.88% White, 0.07% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.05% from some other races and 0.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.50% of the population.

In terms of ancestry, 65.9% were German, 25.9% were Norwegian, 6.7% were Irish, and 1.8% were American.

Of the 1,943 households, 19.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.1% were non-families, and 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.67. The median age was 51.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,136 and the median income for a family was $52,400. Males had a median income of $38,442 versus $25,597 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,531. About 6.1% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 17.1% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

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Communities

Cities

Bowdon
Cathay
Fessenden (county seat)
Hamberg
Harvey
Hurdsfield
Sykeston

Census-designated place

Heimdal

Unincorporated communities

Bremen
Chaseley
Dover
Manfred
Wellsburg

Townships

Berlin
Bilodeau
Bremen
Bull Moose
Cathay
Chaseley
Crystal Lake
Delger
Fairville
Forward
Fram
Germantown
Haaland
Hamburg
Hawksnest
Heimdal
Hillsdale
Johnson
Lynn
Manfred
Norway Lake
Oshkosh
Pony Gulch
Progress
Rusland
Saint Anna
Silver Lake
South Cottonwood
Speedwell
Sykeston
Valhalla
Wells
West Norway
West Ontario
Western
Woodward

Politics

Wells County voters have been Republican-leaning for several decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.

References

External links

Wells County – official website
Northern portion of Wells County, North Dakota DOT
Southern portion of Wells County, North Dakota DOT