County · North Dakota

Nelson County, North Dakota

Nelson County, North Dakota. Nelson County had 2,963 residents in 2025 by the Census Bureau's estimate, down 1.7% since 2020, while North Dakota grew 2.6%. It holds 35 places (7 cities, villages and boroughs, 27 towns and townships and 1 census-designated) and 1 census tract. GEOID 38063.

Residents, July 2025 estimate

2,963

Census Bureau estimate (no margin published)
2020 Census count: 3,015 · ACS 2020-2024: 3,016

Median household income

$67,193

±$7,502 (90% margin)
North Dakota: $76,657

Median home value

$139,700

±$19,963 (90% margin)
North Dakota: $249,900

Median gross rent

$582

±$71 (90% margin)
North Dakota: $954

How many people live in Nelson County, and is it growing?

The 2020 Census counted 3,015 residents in Nelson County. The Census Bureau estimates 2,963 for July 1, 2025, down 1.7% since 2020, while North Dakota grew 2.6%. The 2020-2024 American Community Survey puts the population at 3,016 over 982 square miles of land.

July 2020→2021 +49 (3,042)
2021→2022 −47 (2,995)
2022→2023 −13 (2,982)
2023→2024 −35 (2,947)
2024→2025 +16 (2,963)

Nelson County in North Dakota. Boundaries: Census Bureau 2024.

Counts, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, with the change from 2015-2019
Measure	Nelson County	North Dakota	Change since 2015-2019
Total population	3,016	784,841	+122
Households	1,338±71	331,063	−129
Average household size	2.17±0.11	2.28	+0.24
Housing units	1,783±17	377,281	−158

Nelson County's population since 2000

From 3,715 in 2000 to 2,963 in 2025: down 20.2%. The 2000, 2010 and 2020 figures are census counts. The 2005 figure is the Census Bureau's intercensal estimate, revised to fit the 2000 and 2010 counts and drawn on 2010 boundaries; 2015 and 2025 are July 1 estimates made from the census before them.

2000 Census 3,715
2005 (estimate) 3,384
2010 Census 3,126
2015 (estimate) 2,916
2020 Census 3,015
2025 (estimate) 2,963

Source: The 2000, 2010 and 2020 Census counts and the Census Bureau's population estimates (intercensal 2000-2010, Vintage 2020, Vintage 2025) · Census population estimates

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); PEP Vintage 2025 (CO-EST2025); 2020 Census · Check it at data.census.gov

What cities and towns are in Nelson County?

Nelson County holds 35 places: 7 cities, villages and boroughs (incorporated places), 27 towns and townships (county subdivisions with their own government) and 1 census-designated place. The largest is Lakota with 683 residents (2025 estimate). Places that cross a county line are listed with the share of their 2020 residents who live in this county.

Places in Nelson County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Ring: estimate with a coefficient of variation over 40%.

Lakota	city	683	784±130	$66,090	$167,800	14.6%	100%
McVille	city	392	365±100	$68,750	$97,500	10.5%	100%
Michigan City	city	263	277±76	$75,000	$120,000	4.7%	100%
AnetaGEOID 3802380	city	234	157±51	$41,979	$72,500	3.7%	100%
PetersburgGEOID 3861860	city	162	120±37	$72,083	$112,500	2.5%	100%
Tolna	city	136	124±28	$39,821	$83,000	13.7%	100%
Dayton TownshipGEOID 3806318300	township	89	104±54	$93,462	$565,800	0.0%	100%
PekinGEOID 3861460	city	75	62±27	$36,750	$56,000	8.2%	100%
Hamlin TownshipGEOID 3806334780	township	72	11±12	not published	not published	0.0%	100%
Dahlen TownshipGEOID 3806317660	township	70	43±30	$138,333	$159,400	0.0%	100%
Lakota TownshipGEOID 3806344340	township	53	35±22	not published	$206,300	0.0%	100%
Osago TownshipGEOID 3806359900	township	50	26±30	not published	not published	0.0%	100%
Michigan Township, Nelson CountyGEOID 3806352640	township	48	83±41	$24,679	$137,500	0.0%	100%
Williams Township, Nelson CountyGEOID 3806386140	township	45	29±26	$66,250	$275,000	13.8%	100%
Petersburg TownshipGEOID 3806361900	township	45	10±13	not published	not published	0.0%	100%
Nesheim TownshipGEOID 3806355860	township	44	90±65	$126,250	$227,800	0.0%	100%
Ora TownshipGEOID 3806359580	township	44	54±41	$118,958	not published	0.0%	100%
Nash TownshipGEOID 3806355460	township	44	25±33	not published	not published	100.0%	100%
Lee TownshipGEOID 3806345540	township	41	96±66	not published	not published	0.0%	100%
Sarnia TownshipGEOID 3806370820	township	39	29±21	not published	not published	34.5%	100%
Bergen TownshipGEOID 3806306220	township	37	129±77	$132,452	$249,200	0.0%	100%
Leval TownshipGEOID 3806346140	township	36	35±38	not published	not published	0.0%	100%
Dodds TownshipGEOID 3806319780	township	34	70±45	not published	not published	0.0%	100%
Illinois TownshipGEOID 3806339820	township	31	32±44	not published	not published	0.0%	100%
Melvin TownshipGEOID 3806352140	township	31	0±10	not published	not published	–	100%
Wamduska TownshipGEOID 3806383340	township	28	114±81	$68,897	$112,500	0.0%	100%
Field TownshipGEOID 3806326220	township	28	40±33	$93,750	not published	0.0%	100%
Enterprise TownshipGEOID 3806324500	township	28	6±7	not published	not published	0.0%	100%
Forde TownshipGEOID 3806327020	township	28	0±10	not published	not published	–	100%
Adler TownshipGEOID 3806300580	township	25	7±8	not published	not published	0.0%	100%
Rugh TownshipGEOID 3806368900	township	23	17±14	not published	not published	0.0%	100%
Clara TownshipGEOID 3806314180	township	22	7±12	not published	not published	0.0%	100%
Central TownshipGEOID 3806313260	township	19	27±16	$133,438	not published	0.0%	100%
DahlenGEOID 3817620	CDP	17	20±22	not published	not published	0.0%	100%
Rubin TownshipGEOID 3806368820	township	16	8±10	not published	not published	0.0%	100%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); 2020 place-by-county parts · Check it at data.census.gov

Who lives in Nelson County?

The median resident of Nelson County is 50.1 years old; 20.7% are under 18 and 28.3% are 65 or older. The largest group is non-Hispanic white residents at 91.6%, then Hispanic or Latino residents (of any race) at 3.0%. 3.0% of residents were born outside the United States.

Age, origin and education, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Race groups are non-Hispanic; Hispanic includes any race.
Measure	Nelson County	North Dakota	Change since 2015-2019
Median age	50.1±1.1	35.9	−2.3
Under 18 years	20.7%±1.3 pts	23.5%	–
65 years and over	28.3%±1.3 pts	16.5%	–
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	3.0%	4.7%	−0.5 pts
White alone, not Hispanic	91.6%±0.3 pts	81.7%	−3.7 pts
Black or African American alone, not Hispanic	0.5%±0.4 pts	3.3%	–
Asian alone, not Hispanic	0.7%±0.1 pts	1.6%	–
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	1.0%±1.3 pts	4.2%	–
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0.0%±0.8 pts	0.1%	–
Two or more races, not Hispanic	3.0%±1.4 pts	4.0%	–
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0.3%±0.3 pts	0.3%	–
Born outside the United States	3.0%±1.0 pts	4.7%	no clear change
Speak a language other than English at home (age 5+)	4.8%±1.8 pts	6.7%	–
Civilian veterans (age 18+)	8.8%±2.0 pts	7.1%	–
With a disability	17.4%±2.9 pts	12.0%	–
No health insurance coverage	4.0%±1.4 pts	6.5%	−3.2 pts
High school graduate or higher (age 25+)	93.1%±2.6 pts	94.0%	–
Bachelor's degree or higher (age 25+)	29.4%±3.4 pts	32.7%	+4.4 pts
Graduate or professional degree (age 25+)	6.7%±2.1 pts	9.7%	–
Moved from another state in the past year	0.9%±0.5 pts	4.2%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profiles DP02, DP05) · Check it at data.census.gov

What do households in Nelson County earn?

Half of Nelson County's 1,338 households earn less than $67,193 a year (±$7,502), against $76,657 in North Dakota. In 2015-2019 it was $64,044 in 2024 dollars; the margins of error cannot tell the two periods apart. 7.2% of residents live below the poverty line.

Income and poverty in 2024 dollars, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Nelson County	North Dakota	Change since 2015-2019
Median household income	$67,193±$7,502	$76,657	no clear change
Mean household income	$100,705±$12,651	$101,793	–
Per capita income	$46,126±$5,323	$43,389	no clear change
People below the poverty line	7.2%±2.3 pts	10.8%	−4.3 pts
Children under 18 below the poverty line	13.2%±8.1 pts	11.1%	no clear change
Households receiving SNAP	4.9%±1.9 pts	6.6%	–
Households with a broadband subscription	83.5%±4.5 pts	88.7%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What does housing cost in Nelson County?

Owners occupy 75.1% of Nelson County's occupied homes and renters 24.9%. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $139,700 by its owner (±$19,963). The median renter pays $582 a month including utilities, and 18.0% of renters pay 35% or more of their income on rent.

Housing, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Nelson County	North Dakota	Change since 2015-2019
Median home value (owner-occupied)	$139,700±$19,963	$249,900	+$35,953
Median gross rent	$582±$71	$954	no clear change
Renters paying 35% or more of income on rent	18.0%±6.2 pts	31.1%	no clear change
Median monthly owner costs, with a mortgage	$1,351±$143	$1,762	–
Owner-occupied homes	75.1%±4.1 pts	62.9%	no clear change
Housing units	1,783±17	377,281	−158
Homeowner vacancy rate	5.3%±2.8 pts	1.2%	–
Rental vacancy rate	6.9%±4.6 pts	8.3%	–
Single-family detached homes	83.3%±3.8 pts	56.7%	–
Mobile homes	3.8%±1.6 pts	6.6%	–
Built 2020 or later	0.1%±0.1 pts	1.8%	–
Built 1939 or earlier	26.9%±4.7 pts	11.5%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP04) · Check it at data.census.gov

How many new homes is Nelson County building?

Builders took permits for 4 new housing units across Nelson County in 2025 (4 single-family), 1.3 per 1,000 residents.

2019 2 units
2020 0 units
2021 0 units
2022 1 units
2023 0 units
2024 3 units
2025 4 units

Source: Building Permits Survey, annual county files 2019-2025, U.S. Census Bureau · Census Building Permits Survey

How do people in Nelson County get to work?

71.5% of Nelson County's workers drive alone and 8.1% work from home. The average trip to work takes 19.6 minutes.

Work and commuting, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Nelson County	North Dakota	Change since 2015-2019
In the labor force (age 16+)	58.7%±3.6 pts	68.6%	–
Unemployment rate	1.1%±1.0 pts	2.8%	–
Drove alone to work	71.5%±4.5 pts	77.9%	–
Carpooled	8.9%±3.0 pts	8.8%	–
Public transportation	0.1%±0.3 pts	0.3%	–
Walked	9.2%±3.2 pts	3.2%	–
Worked from home	8.1%±3.1 pts	8.1%	no clear change
Mean travel time to work	19.6 min±2.6	17.9 min	no clear change

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What are Nelson County's census tracts?

Nelson County is a single census tract.

Census tracts of Nelson County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates; sort by any column

Tract 959038063959000	Lakota (8%)	3,015	3,016	$67,193	$139,700	$582	7.2%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) · Check it at data.census.gov

How does Nelson County compare with North Dakota's other counties?

Nelson County's rank among North Dakota's counties with a reliable estimate (1 = highest)
Measure	Rank
Population	34th of 53
Growth 2020-2025	29th of 53
Residents per square mile	32nd of 53
Median household income	37th of 53
Median home value	33rd of 53
Median gross rent	47th of 53
Poverty rate	49th of 53
Bachelor's degree or higher	11th of 53
Median age	7th of 53

Every county in North Dakota

Source: PlainCities ranks from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) and PEP Vintage 2025 · How ranks are computed

How these figures are made: methodology and release checks · reading a margin of error · every state · corrections

Not on this page: crime, weather and schools for Nelson County are other agencies' records. Crime: the FBI's Crime Data Explorer · climate: NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals · schools: the National Center for Education Statistics' school search.