# Ward County, North Dakota: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to Minot, Tatman Township and Waterford Township

The build-out shows up in Ward County as work for the electrical trades. Ward County is home to Minot, Tatman Township, Waterford Township and Nedrose Township. Electrical contractors employ 426, up 46.4% since 2019 against up 11.4% statewide, at an average $84,637 a year. Next door, McLean County has 1 data center. Construction employs 1,900, up 6.5% since 2019. 3 MW has retired here since 2019, including Minot Wind Project (wind, 3 MW, 2022).

+46.4%
electrical contractor jobs since 2019, now 426

3 MW
of generating capacity retired since 2019

120 MW
of operating power plants, mostly wind

## Cities and towns in Ward County

Ward County is home to Minot, Tatman Township, Waterford Township and Nedrose Township.

Minot47,308 residents
Tatman Township2,673 residents
Waterford Township2,404 residents
Nedrose Township2,204 residents
Harrison Township1,734 residents
Surrey1,450 residents
Burlington1,350 residents
Sundre Township1,024 residents
Kenmare911 residents
Afton Township828 residents
Kirkelie Township470 residents
Berthold464 residents
Eureka Township379 residents
Surrey Township376 residents
Burlington Township370 residents
Sawyer307 residents
Sawyer Township300 residents
New Prairie Township262 residents
Des Lacs182 residents
Freedom Township155 residents
Makoti153 residents
Carpio140 residents
McKinley Township136 residents
Willis Township126 residents

And 16 smaller places.

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Foxholm, Logan, Minot AFB, Ruthville.

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 Ward County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in North Dakota |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 69,920 | 68,233 | ▼ 2.4% | 4th of 53 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 31,754 | 31,171 | ▼ 1.8% | 26th of 53 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $51,377 | $62,404 | ▲ 21.5% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 1,784 | 1,900 | ▲ 6.5% | 15th of 20 by growth |
| Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 291 | 426 | ▲ 46.4% | — |
| Electric utility jobs (2019 → 2025) | 92 | 112 | ▲ 21.7% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.1% | 2.0% | ▼ 0.1pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 3 MW |  | — |

Its power plants have 120 MW of capacity, 100% of it wind. Employers here counted 31,171 jobs in 2025, down 1.8% from 2019. Northern States Power Co - Minnesota is the largest utility serving Ward County, one of 8 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 12.11¢/kWh in 2024, above the 11.38¢ median for North Dakota utilities. Unemployment was 2.0% in August 2026, against 2.1% in 2019. 68,233 people live here, down 2.4% since 2020, 4th of 53 North Dakota counties by population.

## Who powers Ward County

### Utilities with service territory in Ward County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern States Power Co - Minnesota | Investor Owned | Bundled | 82,987 | 12.11¢ | 47% |
| Montana-Dakota Utilities Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 79,354 | 11.72¢ | 67% |
| Otter Tail Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 45,467 | 11.38¢ | 77% |
| Verendrye Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 14,336 | 10.70¢ | 24% |
| Mountrail-Williams Elec Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 11,405 | 7.24¢ | 26% |
| McLean Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 3,711 | 14.25¢ | 23% |
| Burke-Divide Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 1,789 | 7.88¢ | 7% |
| WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration | Federal | Bundled | — | — | 97% |

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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wind | 120 MW | 100% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Winds ND1 | Basin Electric Power Coop | Wind | 116 MW | 2009 |
| Minot Wind Project | Basin Electric Power Coop | Wind | 4 MW | 2009 |

### Retired since 2019

| Plant | Technology | MW | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minot Wind Project | Wind | 3 MW | 2022 |

## The Ward County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 31,171 | $62,404 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 1,900 | $74,894 | 1.15 |
| Electrical contractors | 426 | $84,637 | 1.90 |
| Electric utilities | 112 | $145,258 | 1.33 |

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 Ward County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Ward County. North Dakota has 5 local measures on record statewide.

## Ward County and its neighbors

Of the 5 counties that border Ward County, McLean 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward County | 68,233 | ▼ 1.8% | 120 MW | — | — | — |
| Burke County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/burke-county) | 2,132 | ▼ 7.6% | 199 MW | 100 MW | — | — |
| McHenry County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/mchenry-county) | 5,130 | ▲ 2.3% | 112 MW | — | — | — |
| McLean County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/mclean-county) | 9,740 | ▲ 2.6% | 1,216 MW | — | 1 | — |
| Mountrail County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/mountrail-county) | 9,395 | ▼ 14.4% | — | — | — | — |
| Renville County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/renville-county) | 2,331 | ▼ 7.5% | — | — | — | — |

## More of North Dakota

[All North Dakota countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota)[McLean County9,740 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/mclean-county)[Mountrail County9,395 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/mountrail-county)[McHenry County5,130 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/mchenry-county)[Renville County2,331 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/renville-county)[Burke County2,132 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/burke-county)

## Ward County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Ward County, North Dakota?

8 utilities have service territory in Ward County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Northern States Power Co - Minnesota, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co, Otter Tail Power Co, Verendrye Electric Coop Inc. The largest, Northern States Power Co - Minnesota, charged residential customers 12.11¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### What county is Minot, ND in?

Minot is in Ward County, North Dakota. About 47,308 people live there (2025 Census estimate).

### What power plants are in Ward County?

2 operating plants with 120 MW of capacity. The largest is Prairie Winds ND1 (116 MW, wind).

### Are there data centers in Ward County?

The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Ward County. The nearest activity on record is next door in McLean County.

### Is Ward County adding jobs?

Employers counted 31,171 jobs in 2025 against 31,754 in 2019 (-1.8%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 1,784 to 1,900.

### Does Ward County have a data center moratorium?

No county-level measure is on record for Ward County. North Dakota has 5 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.

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Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-dakota/ward-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/).