RANKING · 1990 CENSUS · 53 SHOWN OF 53

Most sparsely populated, North Dakota counties · 1990

North Dakota counties with the fewest residents per square mile (1990). This list covers the 53 counties in North Dakota that qualify, ranked against each other statewide. The median across all 53 is 5.

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SAME RANKING BYCities States Metros

YEAR1990 2000 2010 2020 2025

RANKPLACESTATEPOPPOPULATION DENSITYVS –

01Slope County, NDND6281–

02Billings County, NDND1,0711–

03Dunn County, NDND4,0582–

04Golden Valley County, NDND1,8082–

05Grant County, NDND2,2062–

06Sheridan County, NDND1,2962–

07Divide County, NDND2,1102–

08McKenzie County, NDND15,1922–

09Kidder County, NDND2,3932–

10Burke County, NDND2,1323–

11Logan County, NDND1,8593–

12Hettinger County, NDND2,4923–

13Bowman County, NDND2,7623–

14Emmons County, NDND3,2153–

15Adams County, NDND2,2753–

16Oliver County, NDND1,8983–

17Steele County, NDND1,7973–

18Sioux County, NDND3,6673–

19McHenry County, NDND5,1303–

20Towner County, NDND2,0404–

21Renville County, NDND2,3314–

22Mountrail County, NDND9,3954–

23Cavalier County, NDND3,4974–

24McIntosh County, NDND2,4514–

25Nelson County, NDND2,9634–

26Wells County, NDND3,7295–

27Griggs County, NDND2,2395–

28Eddy County, NDND2,3295–

29LaMoure County, NDND4,1355–

30Bottineau County, NDND6,2845–

31McLean County, NDND9,7405–

32Pierce County, NDND3,8385–

33Benson County, NDND5,7595–

34Sargent County, NDND3,7115–

35Dickey County, NDND4,8955–

36Foster County, NDND3,2126–

37Ransom County, NDND5,6177–

38Pembina County, NDND6,5688–

39Barnes County, NDND10,5738–

40Mercer County, NDND8,4419–

41Stutsman County, NDND21,41410–

42Traill County, NDND7,92010–

43Williams County, NDND41,76710–

44Ramsey County, NDND11,53011–

45Walsh County, NDND10,17911–

46Morton County, NDND34,60112–

47Richland County, NDND16,73113–

48Rolette County, NDND11,68814–

49Stark County, NDND34,01317–

50Ward County, NDND68,23329–

51Burleigh County, NDND103,25137–

52Grand Forks County, NDND74,50149–

53Cass County, NDND201,79458–

SHOWING 1–53 OF 53

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UPDATED 2026-09-11 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS