16,658 people (2024 Census estimate, +0.8% since 2020)
1,436 square miles of land · 12 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
13 active community water systems list Richland County in the area they serve, reporting 15,446 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| WAHPETON CITY OF groundwater · local government · ND3900973 | 7,766 served |
| SOUTHEAST WUD (EAST) groundwater · private · ND3901068 | 4,225 served |
| HANKINSON CITY OF buys groundwater · local government · ND3900443 | 919 served |
| LIDGERWOOD CITY OF buys groundwater · local government · ND3900567 | 652 served |
| WYNDMERE CITY OF buys groundwater · local government · ND3901043 | 429 served |
| FAIRMOUNT CITY OF groundwater · local government · ND3900333 | 367 served |
| ABERCROMBIE CITY OF groundwater · local government · ND3900001 | 263 served |
| WALCOTT CITY OF buys groundwater · local government · ND3900976 | 235 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 18 people were held in Richland County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 177 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 14.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
6 school districts have their office in Richland County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $18.4 million — $16.7 million to run schools, about $13,897 per student, plus $795,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.1 million local (mostly property tax), $11.5 million state, $3 million federal. Long-term debt: $8.1 million.
Spent $5 million — $4.3 million to run schools, about $14,937 per student, plus $415,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.9 million local (mostly property tax), $3.1 million state, $294,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2 million.
Spent $6.3 million — $4.2 million to run schools, about $15,688 per student, plus $2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.6 million local (mostly property tax), $2.8 million state, $604,000 federal.
Spent $4.4 million — $3.9 million to run schools, about $16,599 per student, plus $287,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.8 million local (mostly property tax), $2.4 million state, $344,000 federal. Long-term debt: $400,000.
Spent $3.3 million — $3 million to run schools, about $16,402 per student, plus $165,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.1 million local (mostly property tax), $2.2 million state, $197,000 federal.
Spent $2.3 million — $2.1 million to run schools, about $20,010 per student, plus $159,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $828,000 local (mostly property tax), $1.5 million state, $243,000 federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Richland County about $12.5 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
196 bridges in Richland County: 70 in good condition, 102 fair, and 24 poor (12.2%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| COUNTY HIGHWAY over SHEYENNE RIVER · built 1917 | 20 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY HIGHWAY over WILD RICE RIVER · built 1919 | 20 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY HIGHWAY over WILD RICE RIVER · built 1917 | 20 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY HIGHWAY over SHEYENNE RIVER · built 1918 | 20 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY HIGHWAY over WILD RICE RIVER · built 1918 | 20 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY HIGHWAY over WILD RICE RIVER · built 1919 | 20 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $19.3 million of work in Richland County in fiscal 2025, about $1,166 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for North Dakota are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Richland County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Richland County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Dakota: the state government and every county in North Dakota.
Nearby counties: Wilkin County, MN (23 mi) · Sargent County (35 mi) · Ransom County (36 mi) · Traverse County, MN (41 mi) · Roberts County, SD (44 mi) · Marshall County, SD (48 mi).