# Walsh County, North Dakota: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Grafton and Park River No data center or power plant project is on record in Walsh County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Walsh County is home to Grafton, Park River and Minto. Electrical contractors employ 45, up 28.6% since 2019 against up 11.4% statewide, at an average $79,678 a year. Next door, Grand Forks County has 3 data centers. Construction employs 153, up 12.5% since 2019. Its power plants have 4 MW of capacity, 100% of it petroleum. 4 MW of operating power plants, mostly petroleum -2.9% total jobs since 2019, now 4,730 11.38¢ per kWh for Otter Tail Power Co residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Walsh County Walsh County is home to Grafton, Park River and Minto. Grafton4,023 residents Park River1,363 residents Minto610 residents Grafton Township271 residents Hoople242 residents Kensington Township242 residents Fertile Township224 residents Fordville199 residents Oakwood Township198 residents Edinburg193 residents Glenwood Township159 residents Walsh Centre Township133 residents Adams121 residents Farmington Township121 residents Forest River109 residents Harriston Township108 residents Lankin98 residents Dundee Township95 residents Lampton Township95 residents Acton Township93 residents Martin Township90 residents Pisek86 residents Prairie Centre Township85 residents Golden Township81 residents And 10 smaller places. Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Auburn, Nash. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Walsh County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in North Dakota | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 10,532 | 10,179 | ▼ 3.4% | 14th of 53 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 4,869 | 4,730 | ▼ 2.9% | 32nd of 53 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $42,063 | $56,696 | ▲ 34.8% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 136 | 153 | ▲ 12.5% | 11th of 20 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 35 | 45 | ▲ 28.6% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.9% | 2.9% | ● 0.0pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Employers here counted 4,730 jobs in 2025, down 2.9% from 2019. Otter Tail Power Co is the largest utility serving Walsh County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 11.38¢/kWh in 2024. 10,179 people live here, down 3.4% since 2020. Unemployment was 2.9% in August 2026, against 2.9% in 2019. ## Who powers Walsh County ### Utilities with service territory in Walsh County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Otter Tail Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 45,467 | 11.38¢ | 77% | | Nodak Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 20,803 | 12.08¢ | 42% | | City of Grafton - (ND) | — | — | — | — | — | | City of Park River - (ND) | — | — | — | — | — | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Petroleum | 4 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Grafton | City of Grafton - (ND) | Petroleum | 4 MW | 1937 | ## The Walsh County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 4,730 | $56,696 | 1.00 | | Construction | 153 | $65,120 | 0.61 | | Electrical contractors | 45 | $79,678 | 1.32 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Walsh County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Walsh County. North Dakota has 5 local measures on record statewide. ## Walsh County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Walsh County, Grand Forks County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Walsh County | 10,179 | ▼ 2.9% | 4 MW | — | — | — | | Cavalier County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/cavalier-county) | 3,497 | ▼ 6.1% | 200 MW | — | — | — | | Grand Forks County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/grand-forks-county) | 74,501 | ▲ 3.1% | — | — | 3 | — | | Marshall County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/marshall-county) MN | 8,798 | ▲ 8.7% | — | — | — | — | | Nelson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/nelson-county) | 2,963 | ▲ 5.5% | — | — | — | — | | Pembina County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/pembina-county) | 6,568 | ▼ 4.7% | 6 MW | — | — | — | | Ramsey County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/ramsey-county) | 11,530 | ▼ 2.5% | — | — | — | — | ## More of North Dakota [All North Dakota countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota)[Grand Forks County74,501 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/grand-forks-county)[Ramsey County11,530 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/ramsey-county)[Pembina County6,568 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/pembina-county)[Cavalier County3,497 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/cavalier-county)[Nelson County2,963 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/nelson-county) ## Walsh County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Walsh County, North Dakota? 4 utilities have service territory in Walsh County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Otter Tail Power Co, Nodak Electric Coop Inc, City of Grafton - (ND), City of Park River - (ND). The largest, Otter Tail Power Co, charged residential customers 11.38¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Walsh County? 1 operating plant with 4 MW of capacity. The largest is Grafton (4 MW, petroleum). ### Are there data centers in Walsh County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Walsh County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Grand Forks County. ### Is Walsh County adding jobs? Employers counted 4,730 jobs in 2025 against 4,869 in 2019 (-2.9%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 136 to 153. ### Does Walsh County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Walsh County. North Dakota has 5 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/walsh-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).