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.



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 ASL. The county has a total area of 1294 sqmi, of which 1282 sqmi is land and 12 sqmi (0.9%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-29.svg|20px]] Interstate 29
 * [[Image:US 81.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 81
 * [[Image:North Dakota 17.svg|20px]] North Dakota Highway 17
 * [[Image:North Dakota 18.svg|20px]] North Dakota Highway 18
 * [[Image:North Dakota 32.png|20px]] North Dakota Highway 32
 * [[Image:North Dakota 35.png|20px]] 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

2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 10,563 people, 4,493 households, and 2,738 families in the county. The population density was 8.2 PD/sqmi There were 5,202 housing units.

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 /mi2. There were 5,498 housing units at an average density of 4.29 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 93.5% white, 1.5% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 3.1% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.7% 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.

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

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 2020).