# Walsh County, North Dakota

Walsh County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,563. Its county seat is Grafton.

## History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on May 2, 1881, with areas partitioned from Grand and Pembina counties. It was organized on August 30 of that same year, with Grafton as county seat. It was named for George H. Walsh (1845–1913), a newspaperman and politician in Grand Forks.
In 1946, Walsh County was the site of one of North Dakota's deadliest tornadoes. The storm killed 11 people, including eight in Walsh County, one in Manitoba, and two in Minnesota.

## Geography

Walsh County lies on the eastern side of North Dakota. Its eastern boundary line abuts the western boundary line of the state of Minnesota (across the Red River). The Red River flows northward along the east side of the county on its way to Hudson Bay in Canada. The south branch of the Park River flows eastward through the county to discharge into the Red on the east side of the county. The terrain generally slopes to the north and east, but the highest point is its northwestern corner, at 1,647 ft (502 m) ASL. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,294.032 square miles (3,351.53 km$^2$), of which 1,281.607 square miles (3,319.35 km$^2$) is land and 12.425 square miles (32.18 km$^2$) (0.9%) is water.

### Major highways

* Interstate 29
* U.S. Highway 81
* North Dakota Highway 17
* North Dakota Highway 18
* North Dakota Highway 32
* North Dakota Highway 35

### Adjacent counties

* Pembina County – north
* Kittson County, Minnesota – northeast
* Marshall County, Minnesota – east
* Grand Forks County – south
* Nelson County – southwest
* Ramsey County – west
* Cavalier County – northwest

### Protected areas

* Ardoch National Wildlife Refuge
* Fairdale Slough National Waterfowl Production Area
* National Waterfowl Production Area
* North Salt Lake State Game Management Area

### Lakes

* Fairdale Slough
* Homme Lake
* North Salt Lake
* Salt Lake
* Waterloo Lake

## Demographics

As of the first quarter of 2024, the median home value in Walsh County was $123,610, an increase of _% from the prior year.
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 4,467 estimated households in Walsh County with an average of 2.27 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $68,082. Approximately 9.7% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Walsh County has an estimated 64.3% employment rate, with 17.9% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 86.9% 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 (91.8%), Spanish (6.1%), Indo-European (1.6%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.2%), and Other (0.3%).
The median age in the county was 44.6 years.
Walsh County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
| Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) | Pop. 1980 | Pop. 1990 | Pop. 2000 | Pop. 2010 | Pop. 2020 |
| White alone (NH) | 15,005 (97.62%) | 13,231 (95.60%) | 11,436 (92.31%) | 9,834 (88.44%) | 8,676 (82.14%) |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 4 (0.03%) | 17 (0.12%) | 24 (0.19%) | 24 (0.22%) | 69 (0.65%) |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 97 (0.63%) | 97 (0.70%) | 120 (0.97%) | 153 (1.38%) | 136 (1.29%) |
| Asian alone (NH) | 23 (0.15%) | 54 (0.39%) | 22 (0.18%) | 36 (0.32%) | 45 (0.43%) |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | — | — | 2 (0.02%) | 4 (0.04%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| Other race alone (NH) | 18 (0.12%) | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (0.01%) | 3 (0.03%) | 31 (0.29%) |
| Mixed race or multiracial (NH) | — | — | 84 (0.68%) | 96 (0.86%) | 290 (2.75%) |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 224 (1.46%) | 441 (3.19%) | 700 (5.65%) | 969 (8.71%) | 1,316 (12.46%) |
| Total | 15,371 (100.00%) | 13,840 (100.00%) | 12,389 (100.00%) | 11,119 (100.00%) | 10,563 (100.00%) |

### 2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 10,563 people, 4,493 households, and 2,738 families residing in the county. The population density was 8.2 inhabitants per square mile (3.2/km$^2$). There were 5,202 housing units at an average density of 4.06 inhabitants per square mile (1.6/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 86.01% White, 0.67% African American, 1.37% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 3.94% from some other races and 7.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 12.46% of the population. 23.4% of residents were under the age of 18, 6.0% were under 5 years of age, and 22.9% were 65 and older.

### 2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 11,119 people, 4,746 households, and 3,021 families in the county. The population density was 8.67 inhabitants per square mile (3.3/km$^2$). There were 5,498 housing units at an average density of 4.29 inhabitants per square mile (1.7/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 93.45% White, 0.22% African American, 1.51% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.10% from some other races and 1.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 8.71% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 39.7% were Norwegian, 21.6% were German, 11.0% were Polish, 9.4% were Irish, 9.3% were Czech, 5.8% were English, and 5.4% were American.
Of the 4,746 households, 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.3% were non-families, and 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 45.9 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,139 and the median income for a family was $58,429. Males had a median income of $36,934 versus $26,826 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,829. About 5.4% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

### Population by decade
## Communities
### Cities

* Adams
* Ardoch
* Conway
* Edinburg
* Fairdale
* Fordville
* Forest River
* Grafton (county seat)
* Hoople
* Lankin
* Minto
* Park River
* Pisek

### Census-designated places

* Auburn
* Nash

### Unincorporated communities

* Herriott
* Veseleyville
* Voss
* Warsaw

### Townships

* Acton
* Adams
* Ardoch
* Cleveland
* Dewey
* Dundee
* Eden
* Farmington
* Fertile
* Forest River
* Glenwood
* Golden
* Grafton
* Harriston
* Kensington
* Kinloss
* Lampton
* Latona
* Martin
* Medford
* Norton
* Oakwood
* Ops
* Perth
* Prairie Centre
* Pulaski
* Rushford
* St. Andrews
* Sauter
* Shepherd
* Silvesta
* Tiber
* Vernon
* Vesta
* Walsh Centre
* Walshville
Township Numbers and Range Numbers :
| | Range 59 | Range 58 | Range 57 | Range 56 | Range 55 | Range 54 | Range 53 | Range 52 | Range 51 | Range 50 |
| Township 155 | Sauter | Perth | Cleveland | Medford | Eden | Ops | Forest River | Ardoch | Walshville | Walshville |
| Township 156 | Shepherd | Latona | Norton | Vernon | Rushford | Prairie Centre | Walsh Centre | Harriston | Pulaski | Pulaski |
| Township 157 | Dewey | Adams | Vesta | Golden | Kensington Township | Fertile | Grafton | Oakwood | Acton | Acton |
| Township 158 | St. Andrews | St. Andrews | Martin | Farmington | Glenwood | Dundee | Lampton | Tiber | Silvesta | Kinloss |

## Politics

Walsh County voters have traditionally voted Republican. In only one national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).
United States presidential election results for Walsh County, North Dakota :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 3,186 | 70.86% | 1,173 | 26.09% | 137 | 3.05% |
| 2020 | 3,324 | 69.50% | 1,333 | 27.87% | 126 | 2.63% |
| 2016 | 2,995 | 64.60% | 1,167 | 25.17% | 474 | 10.22% |
| 2012 | 2,656 | 55.44% | 1,985 | 41.43% | 150 | 3.13% |
| 2008 | 2,415 | 49.47% | 2,325 | 47.62% | 142 | 2.91% |
| 2004 | 3,194 | 61.59% | 1,905 | 36.73% | 87 | 1.68% |
| 2000 | 3,099 | 59.80% | 1,743 | 33.64% | 340 | 6.56% |
| 1996 | 2,222 | 44.99% | 2,082 | 42.15% | 635 | 12.86% |
| 1992 | 2,544 | 43.09% | 1,936 | 32.79% | 1,424 | 24.12% |
| 1988 | 3,250 | 54.48% | 2,646 | 44.35% | 70 | 1.17% |
| 1984 | 4,347 | 64.84% | 2,264 | 33.77% | 93 | 1.39% |
| 1980 | 4,488 | 64.69% | 1,850 | 26.66% | 600 | 8.65% |
| 1976 | 3,518 | 48.13% | 3,555 | 48.64% | 236 | 3.23% |
| 1972 | 3,991 | 56.29% | 2,908 | 41.02% | 191 | 2.69% |
| 1968 | 3,410 | 50.06% | 2,948 | 43.28% | 454 | 6.66% |
| 1964 | 2,454 | 33.27% | 4,911 | 66.58% | 11 | 0.15% |
| 1960 | 4,036 | 50.16% | 4,009 | 49.82% | 2 | 0.02% |
| 1956 | 3,946 | 54.81% | 3,238 | 44.97% | 16 | 0.22% |
| 1952 | 4,761 | 57.33% | 3,494 | 42.08% | 49 | 0.59% |
| 1948 | 2,646 | 37.63% | 4,170 | 59.31% | 215 | 3.06% |
| 1944 | 2,471 | 34.07% | 4,747 | 65.46% | 34 | 0.47% |
| 1940 | 3,051 | 35.61% | 5,499 | 64.18% | 18 | 0.21% |
| 1936 | 1,813 | 22.15% | 5,756 | 70.32% | 616 | 7.53% |
| 1932 | 1,616 | 22.31% | 5,342 | 73.74% | 286 | 3.95% |
| 1928 | 3,657 | 48.94% | 3,798 | 50.83% | 17 | 0.23% |
| 1924 | 2,837 | 49.17% | 917 | 15.89% | 2,016 | 34.94% |
| 1920 | 4,581 | 67.13% | 2,047 | 30.00% | 196 | 2.87% |
| 1916 | 1,670 | 43.81% | 2,003 | 52.54% | 139 | 3.65% |
| 1912 | 586 | 20.33% | 1,206 | 41.85% | 1,090 | 37.82% |
| 1908 | 1,751 | 49.46% | 1,641 | 46.36% | 148 | 4.18% |
| 1904 | 2,042 | 61.97% | 1,113 | 33.78% | 140 | 4.25% |
| 1900 | 1,807 | 49.41% | 1,804 | 49.33% | 46 | 1.26% |