Official Federal Data
McKenzie County, North Dakota
FIPS 38053 · Population 14,321
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$93,404 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
2.5% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$4.4B ▼
GDP
19.1% ▼
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Small population: 14,321 residents. These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year estimates, which carry a wide margin of error for places under 20,000 people. Read each value as an approximate range, and treat year-over-year changes as indicative rather than exact. A small shift can reflect survey sampling, not a real change on the ground.
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$93,404 ▲
Per Capita
$51,333 ▲
Mean Household
$136,029 ▲
Poverty Rate
12% ▲approx.
Median Income Comparison
McKenzie County$93,404
North Dakota$76,657
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 31.1%
18-34 · 24.7%
35-54 · 24.6%
55-64 · 10.2%
65+ · 9.3%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
89.1%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 0.5 pts
19.1%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 16.6 pts
3.9%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 10.2 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
14,321
Population
7,173
Labor Force
Employed
7,071
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
2.5% ▲ +0.2 pts YoY
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.9 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.8%
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 16.6 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
- Young population: Median age of 32 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction employs 1,960 workers (29.4% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $133,390.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $4.4B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction averages $133,390 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $29,801, a 4.5x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Goods-Producing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
3,530
Cluster Employment
2.07x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Pipeline Transportation
206.61x 876
Support Activities for Mining
68.25x 1,372
Rental and Leasing Services
7.33x 316
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
7.31x 654
Truck Transportation
4.86x 543
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
2.83x 224
2.07x 3,530
Utilities
1.98x 90
Repair and Maintenance
1.91x 210
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods
1.78x 294
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.15x
Ambulatory Health Care Services
100 employed
0.32x
Social Assistance
119 employed
0.35x
Food Services and Drinking Places
322 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Pipeline Transportation concentrates at 206.61x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$349,600 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,284 ▲
Rent/Mo
53.4% ▼
Owner-Occ
22.6% ▼
Vacancy
3.7x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,117/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,124/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,354/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,672/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,271/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,335/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.7x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Elevated vacancy: 22.6% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
- Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,335/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
8,535 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.9 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.8%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
80.5%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
19.1% ▼
HS Diploma+
89.1% ▼
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
10,038/yr
3,449/yr
3,143/yr
1,150/yr
1,078/yr
649/yr
569/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
17.1%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
37.4%
Service
9.1%
Sales & Office
15.9%
Construction / Maint.
22.1%
Production / Transport
15.6%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 7,071 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 7,742 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
McKenzie County shows strong potential for pipeline transportation attraction, with a 206.61x concentration and 876 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across pipeline transportation, support activities for mining, and rental and leasing services creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for McKenzie County, North Dakota, from federal data sources.
What is the population of McKenzie County, North Dakota?
14,321 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in McKenzie County, North Dakota?
$93,404 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in McKenzie County, North Dakota?
2.5% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of McKenzie County, North Dakota?
$4.4B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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