Wells County, North Dakota: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+63%. Republican peak: R+74 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+63MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 3,8902024 5-year
- Median household income
- $66,1142024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 95.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 0.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+56 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+74 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- McKenzie County, ND · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Wells CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Wells County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −50.8% |
| 1896 | −29.4% |
| 1900 | −41.8% |
| 1904 | −68.2% |
| 1908 | −38.8% |
| 1912 | +9.1% |
| 1916 | −19.9% |
| 1920 | −73.5% |
| 1924 | −40.7% |
| 1928 | −5.3% |
| 1932 | +55.9% |
| 1936 | +34.9% |
| 1940 | −27.8% |
| 1944 | −23.7% |
| 1948 | −22.4% |
| 1952 | −56.6% |
| 1956 | −33.9% |
| 1960 | −16.7% |
| 1964 | +10.5% |
| 1968 | −26.5% |
| 1972 | −31.3% |
| 1976 | −5.3% |
| 1980 | −53.2% |
| 1984 | −39.6% |
| 1988 | −18.0% |
| 1992 | −9.7% |
| 1996 | −9.0% |
| 2000 | −39.4% |
| 2004 | −31.1% |
| 2008 | −26.4% |
| 2012 | −41.2% |
| 2016 | −57.8% |
| 2020 | −61.1% |
| 2024 | −62.6% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 405 | 1,815 | 2,253 | ||
| R | 442 | 1,893 | 2,374 | ||
| R | 419 | 1,796 | 2,383 | ||
| R | 673 | 1,654 | 2,379 | ||
| R | 841 | 1,468 | 2,377 | ||
| R | 858 | 1,654 | 2,561 | ||
| R | 661 | 1,610 | 2,410 | ||
| R | 962 | 1,192 | 2,542 | ||
| R | 888 | 1,171 | 2,916 | ||
| R | 1,317 | 1,901 | 3,241 | ||
| R | 1,036 | 2,426 | 3,506 | ||
| R | 746 | 2,660 | 3,599 | ||
| R | 1,742 | 1,941 | 3,767 | ||
| R | 1,297 | 2,519 | 3,910 | ||
| R | 1,265 | 2,266 | 3,782 | ||
| D | 2,314 | 1,875 | 4,189 | ||
| R | 1,885 | 2,641 | 4,535 | ||
| R | 1,434 | 2,912 | 4,355 | ||
| R | 1,016 | 3,709 | 4,762 | ||
| R | 1,492 | 2,385 | 3,986 | ||
| R | 1,557 | 2,529 | 4,106 | ||
| R | 1,878 | 3,335 | 5,232 | ||
| D | 3,114 | 1,263 | 5,298 | ||
| D | 3,823 | 1,062 | 4,939 | ||
| R | 2,123 | 2,364 | 4,512 | ||
| O | 138 | 1,644 | 3,703 | ||
| R | 456 | 3,202 | 3,736 | ||
| R | 810 | 1,226 | 2,093 | ||
| O | 494 | 356 | 1,510 | ||
| R | 535 | 1,243 | 1,826 | ||
| R | 209 | 1,330 | 1,644 | ||
| R | 388 | 966 | 1,382 | ||
| R | 317 | 584 | 909 | ||
| R | 0 | 157 | 309 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
53.7%
Irish
6.2%
American
3.8%
English
2.6%
Polish
1.6%
Scottish
1.4%
French
1.1%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 46.3 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$66,114
Wells County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Wells County$66,114
North Dakota$76,657
United States$80,734
Wells County ranks near the middle of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
9.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.0%
Working age (18–64)8.4%
Seniors (65+)11.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.3%
speak English only
Spanish1.2%
Other Indo-European1.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 21.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Wells County's 2024 presidential margin of R+62.6 reflects the overwhelmingly rural, agricultural character common to the state's interior counties, where small-town populations have shifted decisively toward Republican candidates over the past two decades.
The Republican margin here reached seventy-four points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was sixty-three points.
A population of 3,890, a 95% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $66,114 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of McKenzie County and Sherman County.
Most similar counties
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Wells County, North Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/38103/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in North Dakota
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Wells County, North Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Wells County, North Dakota voted Republican by 62.6 points (R+63), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 2,253 votes cast, 405 went Democratic and 1,815 went Republican.
What is Wells County, North Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Wells County, North Dakota in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 3 times, Republican 29 times, and other 2 times.
When did Wells County, North Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Wells County, North Dakota voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Wells County, North Dakota?
Wells County, North Dakota has a population of 3,890 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Wells County, North Dakota?
Median household income in Wells County, North Dakota is $66,114 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Dakota state median is $76,657.
What is the political history of Wells County, North Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Wells County, North Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 3 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.