Walsh County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,563, and was estimated to be 10,179 in 2025. The county seat and the largest city 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 ASL.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.96%) is water. It is the 22nd largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Major highways

Interstate 29 U.S. Highway 81 North Dakota Highway 17 North Dakota Highway 18 North Dakota Highway 32 North Dakota Highway 35 North Dakota Highway 44 North Dakota Highway 54

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 Polk County, Minnesota - southeast

Protected areas

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

Lakes Source:

Fairdale Slough Homme Lake North Salt Lake Salt Lake Waterloo Lake Lake Ardoch

Demographics

As of the fourth quarter of 2025, the median home value in Walsh County was $143,614.

As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there are 4,400 estimated households in Walsh County with an average of 2.28 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $71,944. Approximately 11.2% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Walsh County has an estimated 62.6% employment rate, with 19.2% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 88.8% holding a high school diploma. There were 5,184 housing units at an average density of .

The top five reported languages (people were allowed to report up to two languages, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (90.7%), Spanish (7.3%), Indo-European (1.4%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.3%), and Other (0.3%).

The median age in the county was 43.2 years.

+Walsh County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop. 1980 Pop. 1990 Pop. 2000 Pop. 2010 Pop. 2024 White alone (NH) 15,005(97.62%) 13,231(95.60%) 11,436(92.31%) 9,834(88.44%) 8,676(82.14%) 8,225(80.53%) Black or African American alone (NH) 4(0.03%) 17(0.12%) 24(0.19%) 24(0.22%) 69(0.65%) 75(0.73%) Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 97(0.63%) 97(0.70%) 120(0.97%) 153(1.38%) 136(1.29%) 191(1.87%) Asian alone (NH) 23(0.15%) 54(0.39%) 22(0.18%) 36(0.32%) 45(0.43%) 107(1.05%) Pacific Islander alone (NH) — — 2(0.02%) 4(0.04%) 0(0.00%) 9(0.09%) 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%) 157(1.54%) Hispanic or Latino (any race) 224(1.46%) 441(3.19%) 700(5.65%) 969(8.71%) 1,316(12.46%) 1,450(14.20%) Total 15,371(100.00%) 13,840(100.00%) 12,389(100.00%) 11,119(100.00%) 10,563(100.00%) 10,214(100.00%)

2024 estimate As of the 2024 estimate, there were 10,214 people, 4,450 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 5,184 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.35% White, 0.88% African American, 2.34% Native American, 1.23% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 14.20% of the population.

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 . There were 5,202 housing units at an average density of . 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.

There were 4,493 households in the county, of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 21.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Of the residents, 22.8% were under the age of 18 and 22.3% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 44.5 years. For every 100 females there were 104.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 104.8 males. Among occupied housing units, 75.3% were owner-occupied and 24.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.4%.

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 . There were 5,498 housing units at an average density of . 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.

There were 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).

Education School districts include: - Text list Dakota Prairie Public School District 1, McVille Drayton Public School District 19, Drayton Edmore Public School District 2, Edmore Fordville-Lankin Public School District 5, Fordville Grafton Public School District 3, Grafton Lakota Public School District 66, Lakota Manvel Public School District 125, Manvel Midway Public School District 128, Inkster Minto Public School District 20, Minto Park River Area Public School District 8, Park River Valley-Edinburg Public School District 118, Crystal

See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Walsh County, North Dakota

References

External links Walsh County – official website Walsh County maps, Sheet 1 (western), Sheet 2 (eastern), North Dakota DOT