Bakken shale boomtown where oil-patch economics drive the ballot
Williston's population roughly doubled during the 2010s fracking boom, pulling in transient workers and reshaping housing and services. Energy prices and extraction-industry sentiment have since become the dominant lens through which local voters read federal candidates.
| Group | Williston, ND | National |
|---|---|---|
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13) | 84.0% | 57.4% |
▶Hispanic / Latino(11) | 5.6% | 19.3% |
Multiracial / Other | 3.8% | 4.0% |
▶Native American / Alaska Native(3) | 3.4% | 0.9% |
▶Black / African American(5) | 2.6% | 12.2% |
▶Asian(5) | 0.6% | 6.0% |
▶Middle Eastern / North African(3) | 0.5% | 0.9% |
| Tradition | % Pop | % Adherents | US Pop | US Adherents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.5% | 34.2% | — | — | |
| 10.5% | 26.6% | — | — | |
| 10.2% | 25.9% | — | — | |
| 5.3% | 13.3% | — | — | |
LDS (Mormon) | 4.7% | 11.8% | — | — |
Non-religiousPopulation | 60.6% | — | — | — |
Who lives in the Williston, ND metro area? 110,603 residents across 4 counties.
21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree — 12pp below the national average. Places with similar education levels vote R+15 on average nationally.
Scale, voting-age share, and this geography's footprint inside the national electorate.
Income, attainment, and ownership indicators that often shape coalition structure and turnout behavior.
Age structure, language use, and nativity signals that explain how this geography differs from state and nation.
| Offices | Margin A | Margin B | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| President vs Senate | R+67.6 | R+65.1 | 2.5pp |
| Senate vs Governor | R+65.1 | R+67.4 | 2.3pp |
| President vs Governor | R+67.6 | R+67.4 | 0.3pp |