Canadian Population in Williams County, ND by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

Shelby County reports a total of 60 Canadian residents, with Williston being the only city showing any presence - 55 residents. Ray and Tioga report none. The remaining population appears to reside in unincorporated areas, pointing to a rural demographic distribution outside city boundaries. Further analysis explores this rural dispersion across North Dakota.

Top 5 cities with the largest Canadian population in Williams County

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  • 1
    Williston
    Canadian population in Williston is 55
    0.20% of Williston population is Canadian
  • 2
    Ray
    Canadian population in Ray is 0
    - of Ray population is Canadian
  • 3
    Tioga
    Canadian population in Tioga is 0
    - of Tioga population is Canadian

Overview of Canadian population in Williams County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Williams County with 60 Canadian residents (0.15% of 39,368 total county population), positioning the jurisdiction at the 69th percentile nationally among counties and 87th percentile within North Dakota for Canadian population concentrations, despite absolute population figures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS indicate Williams County's Canadian population of 0.15% exceeds North Dakota's state average of 0.13% while remaining below the national average of 0.17%, placing the county above regional demographic benchmarks while below national concentration levels.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data documents Williams County with 60 Canadian residents, representing 5.9% of North Dakota's total Canadian population of 1,020.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey shows Williams County maintains 0.029 Canadian Americans per square mile compared to North Dakota's average of 0.015, indicating higher demographic concentration relative to state averages.
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Williams County Cities Ranked by Canadian Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] indicate 55 Canadian population in Williston and zero in Ray and Tioga. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for the three incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Williams County, ND ranked by Canadian population count
Rank by Canadian Population
City
Canadian Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Williams County Canadian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Williston 55 0.20% 91.67%
2 Ray 0 - -
2 Tioga 0 - -
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Williams County, ND by their Canadian population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Canadian population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Canadian ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Canadian alone, while others identify as Canadian along with another race (such as Canadian and German).
  • We’ve used the “Canadian alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Canadian population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Canadian alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Canadian .
  2. % of Total Williams County Canadian Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Canadian population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Canadian populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Canadian population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Canadian populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.