MarketWells County, North Dakota
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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. The county seat is Fessenden and the largest city is Harvey.

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. ==Geography==
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 highwaysU.S. Highway 52North Dakota Highway 3North Dakota Highway 15North Dakota Highway 30North Dakota Highway 91North Dakota Highway 200 • County 1 • County 5 • Wells County Route 52 Adjacent countiesBenson County - north • Eddy County - east • Foster County - east • Stutsman County - southeast • Kidder County - south • Sheridan County - west • Pierce County - northwest Protected areas Source: • Karl T. Frederick State Game Management Area • Upland State Game Refuge Lakes Source: • Big Slough • Crystal Lake • Egg Lake • Lake Ontario • Silver Lake • Sorenson Lake ==Demographics==
Demographics
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Wells County was $112,737. 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 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 Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.55,0.0,0.0) ImageSize = width:700 height:350 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:13288 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:3322 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1661 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1890 text:1890 bar:1900 text:1900 bar:1910 text:1910 bar:1920 text:1920 bar:1930 text:1930 bar:1940 text:1940 bar:1950 text:1950 bar:1960 text:1960 bar:1970 text:1970 bar:1980 text:1980 bar:1990 text:1990 bar:2000 text:2000 bar:2010 text:2010 bar:2020 text:2020 bar:2025 text:present PlotData= color:barra width:25 align:left bar:1890 from: 0 till:1212 bar:1900 from: 0 till:8310 bar:1910 from: 0 till:11814 bar:1920 from: 0 till:12957 bar:1930 from: 0 till:13285 bar:1940 from: 0 till:11198 bar:1950 from: 0 till:10417 bar:1960 from: 0 till:9237 bar:1970 from: 0 till:7847 bar:1980 from: 0 till:6979 bar:1990 from: 0 till:5864 bar:2000 from: 0 till:5102 bar:2010 from: 0 till:4207 bar:2020 from: 0 till:3982 bar:2025 from: 0 till:3729 color:darkblue PlotData= bar:1890 at:1212 fontsize:M text:1,212 shift:(-16,6) bar:1900 at:8310 fontsize:M text:8,310 shift:(-16,6) bar:1910 at:11814 fontsize:M text:11,814 shift:(-16,6) bar:1920 at:12957 fontsize:M text:12,957 shift:(-16,6) bar:1930 at:13285 fontsize:M text:13,285 shift:(-16,6) bar:1940 at:11198 fontsize:M text:11,198 shift:(-16,6) bar:1950 at:10417 fontsize:M text:10,417 shift:(-16,6) bar:1960 at:9237 fontsize:M text:9,237 shift:(-16,6) bar:1970 at:7847 fontsize:M text:7,847 shift:(-16,6) bar:1980 at:6979 fontsize:M text:6,979 shift:(-16,6) bar:1990 at:5864 fontsize:M text:5,864 shift:(-16,6) bar:2000 at:5102 fontsize:M text:5,102 shift:(-16,6) bar:2010 at:4207 fontsize:M text:4,207 shift:(-16,6) bar:2020 at:3982 fontsize:M text:3,982 shift:(-16,6) bar:2025 at:3729 fontsize:M text:3,729 shift:(-16,6) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau ==Communities==
Communities
CitiesBowdonCathayFessenden (county seat) • HambergHarveyHurdsfieldSykeston Census-designated placeHeimdal Unincorporated communitiesBremenChaseley • Dover • ManfredWellsburg 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==
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. ==See also==
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