Jury Pool Profile
McKenzie County, North Dakota
- County seat
- Watford City
- Judicial district
- Northwest Judicial District Court
- Population (July 2025 estimate)
- 15,192
- Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 14,321.
At a glance
McKenzie County is a 15,192-person venue. The county population is 78% White (Census race-alone categories). 12% identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race. Median household income is $110,682, $30,550 above the ND state median of $80,132; 19.1% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 7.7% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish. The largest employment sector is Trade, transportation & utilities, at 23.4% of covered employment, average pay $105,507/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 2.54%, above the 2.49% state average. The county carried the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking 80% to 84% of the vote across the three.
- Population
- 14,321
- Median household income
- $93,404
- Unemployment
- 2.5%
Who sits on a jury?
≥70% White (race-alone) and <20% Black. This county: 78% / 2%.
McKenzie County has a population of 14,321, with a median age of 31.5. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 78.1%; Black residents 1.9%. Independently, 12.1% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The median household earns $110,682; 19.1% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 8.2% live below the federal poverty line.
Economic context
Largest sector in BLS QCEW, even counting every withheld job toward the other sectors: Trade, transportation & utilities, about 23% of covered jobs. Oil and gas (private NAICS 211, 213111, 213112) is about 16.7% of all jobs, at or above the 5% bar.
Trade, transportation & utilities is the largest employment sector at 23.4% of covered employment, followed by Public administration at 19.3%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 2.54%, above the North Dakota state average.
Political composition
Republican candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 82%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.
McKenzie County was carried by the Republican candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 84.4% in 2024, 82.7% in 2020, 79.7% in 2016.
Languages, households, faith & health
Family households are 60% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 7.7% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).
7.7% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish, Vietnamese, German or other West Germanic. Veterans account for 4.9% of the adult civilian population (485 individuals).