We all know what happened during the oil boom. Some communities in the western third of North Dakota exploded with population and although that has now stabilized, some of those growing pains remain.
Williston is one of the best examples. At the height of the boom, the city of Williston, which had a fraction of the population of the city of Fargo, was running neck and neck with Fargo on taxable sales and purchases.
With that kind of robust growth, buildings began popping up like mushrooms and new downtown businesses began emerging to accommodate the growing population. That too has stabilized, along with Williston’s population.
The 2010 census reported Williston’s population at 14,700. In just 10 years, the city grew 98 percent and is now considered the sixth-largest city in North Dakota with a population of 27,700. During the peak of the oil boom in 2015, the population was estimated at close to 40,000.
Because of that growth, Williston now has the fifth largest high school in the state of North Dakota, tied with Fargo Davies for that spot.
Nearby Watford City is another example of mind-boggling growth that was even more intense than Williston. In 2010, Watford City had 1,740 people. By 2020, the population had jumped 256 percent to 6,200. It has since dropped about 200 in population, according to 2023 estimates.
And similar to Williston, taxable sales and purchases in Watford City in 2015, rivaled that of Jamestown, a city with more than twice the population.
Likewise, the Watford City School District saw radical growth and because of it, the sports teams had to move up in class to compete against some of the larger schools in the state. It also prompted a new high school campus that opened in 2016 and brought additional elementary locations because of the overgrowth.
It doesn’t stop there. Alexander, also in McKenzie County with Watford City, saw substantial growth, but not as great as Watford City or Williston. From 2010 to 2020, the population rose 43 percent, from 223 to 319. It was a much more subtle growth that also saw an increase in the school population. Its Comet sports teams went from a virtual unknown to competing in high school sports playoffs.
New Town, in neighboring Mountrail County and on the Fort Berthold Reservation, also grew by 43 percent. But unlike Alexander, New Town’s 2010 population was much larger at 1,925, jumping to 2,764 following the 2020 census.
Other communities in the western third also had substantial population growth. They included Tioga, 79 percent, Stanley, 59 percent, Ray, 25 percent, Berthold, 8 percent and Parshall, 5 percent.
Ray, Tioga and Williston are all in Williams County, Watford City and Alexander are in McKenzie County, New Town and Parshall are in Mountrail County and Berthold, on the edge of the oil boom, is in Ward County.
Minot, also in Ward County, grew by 18 percent from 2010 to 2020. Some of that is attributed to the oil boom as several oilfield companies set up their headquarters in Minot. But the fourth-largest city in North Dakota throughout history has always sustained growth, so it could be several factors.
One of the unusual things that has come out of this is the growth of the Hispanic population in Watford City. It is now nearly a fourth of the population and has put a unique strain on the school system as few teachers, students or administrators could speak Spanish to the rapid influx of new students.
It is also difficult for Hispanic students to learn in such an environment. But, like the population, the school district has stabilized by hiring Spanish teachers and using translators to better communicate with the students and parents.
