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Williston, North Dakota

Williston is a small city of about 30,000 people in Williams County, North Dakota. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.6 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Minneapolis, is about 540 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
29,522
up 0.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$286,200
Williams County prices up 15% since 2022
Household income
$79,381
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural North Dakota
87.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
CHI St. Alexius Health Williston
To Minneapolis
540 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.7% below the U.S. average in the parts of North Dakota outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Williston itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town11 public schools: 7 elementary, 1 middle, 2 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byCHI St. Alexius Health Williston is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMinneapolis is about 540 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Williston meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$286,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 15%Williams County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,122 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$79,381U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
47%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,974 a yearNorth Dakota: $2,468
Homes built before 1940
7%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
43%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
87.3U.S. average = 100 (the parts of North Dakota outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 15% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of North Dakota outside metro areas, not Williston alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
29,5222020: 29,306
Median age
32 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
10%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
26%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (25%); farming, forestry and mining (18%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
8%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: CHI St. Alexius Health Williston, Williston, ND, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Trinity Hospitals, Minot, ND, about 109 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

11 public schools in Williston, run by Williston Basin 7.

Colleges in or next to town: Williston State College (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on North Dakota's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
93%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
1°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
21 a year
Nights at or below freezing
191 a year
Rain and melted snow
15.1 inches a year
Snow
48 inches a year
Elevation
1,987 feet

Weather station: Williston Sloulin Intl Ap (1 mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Bismarck, Minneapolis.

Williams County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 5, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site21 miles
  • Theodore Roosevelt National Park40 miles

Read about Williston's history on Wikipedia.

Know Williston?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Trenton, ND (unincorporated)406 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.