Official Federal Data
Richland County, North Dakota
FIPS 38077 · Wahpeton, ND-MN · Population 16,584
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$75,432 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
2.8% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$1.5B ▼
GDP
24.9% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Small population: 16,584 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
$75,432 ▲
Per Capita
$40,975 ▲
Mean Household
$99,435 ▲
Poverty Rate
9.7% ▼approx.
Median Income Comparison
Richland County$75,432
North Dakota$76,657
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 21.7%
18-34 · 24.4%
35-54 · 20.9%
55-64 · 12.8%
65+ · 20.2%
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+
94.5%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +4.9 pts
24.9%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 10.8 pts
5.6%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 8.5 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
16,584
Population
8,857
Labor Force
Employed
8,696
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
2.8% ▲ +0.2 pts YoY
Mean Commute 5 min below national avg
21.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.2%
Key Takeaways
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 10.8 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 1,898 workers (41% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $71,956.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $1.5B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $96,585 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $18,496, a 5.2x 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
2,578
Cluster Employment
2.25x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Crop Production
9.27x 248
Wood Product Manufacturing
7.92x 161
Food Manufacturing
7.52x 675
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods
2.59x 287
2.25x 2,578
Construction of Buildings
2.05x 193
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
1.83x 317
Truck Transportation
1.68x 126
Animal Production and Aquaculture
1.54x 21
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.14x
Administrative and Support Services
62 employed
0.42x
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
230 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Crop Production concentrates at 9.27x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 9 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
$183,600 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$740 ▲
Rent/Mo
68.1% ▼
Owner-Occ
9% ▼
Vacancy
2.4x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$661/mo
1 Bedroom
$665/mo
2 Bedroom
$873/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,214/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,464/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,886/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.4x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
- Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,886/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
9,633 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 5 min below national avg
21.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.2%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
89.2%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
24.9% ▲
HS Diploma+
94.5% ▲
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
22%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
36.1%
Service
19.1%
Sales & Office
15.5%
Construction / Maint.
11.3%
Production / Transport
18%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 8,696 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 21.1-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- 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
Richland County shows strong potential for crop production attraction, with a 9.27x concentration and 248 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across crop production, wood product manufacturing, and food manufacturing 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
Illustrative example
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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 Richland County, North Dakota, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Richland County, North Dakota?
16,584 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Richland County, North Dakota?
$75,432 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Richland County, North Dakota?
2.8% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Richland County, North Dakota?
$1.5B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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