{"id":6746,"date":"2023-08-17T08:36:17","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T08:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=6746"},"modified":"2026-08-18T00:28:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T00:28:38","slug":"nelson-county-north-dakota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/nelson-county-north-dakota\/","title":{"rendered":"Nelson County, North Dakota"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Nelson County is a county in North Dakota, United States, on the eastern edge of the Drift Prairie between Devils Lake and the Red River Valley. It had a population of 3,015 at the 2020 census and covers 1,009 square miles (2,613 km2), centred near 47\u00b055\u2032N 98\u00b012\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Lakota is the county seat, and its postal code is 58344. The county has seven incorporated cities, one census-designated place, and several unincorporated communities. It sits in the Central time zone.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Nelson County<\/h2>\n<p>Nelson County has seven incorporated cities, one census-designated place (Dahlen), and four unincorporated communities. Cities carry a Pop. figure from the 2020 census; CDP and unincorporated places show a figure where verified, otherwise a dash.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Lakota<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>683<\/td>\n<td>58344<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>McVille<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>392<\/td>\n<td>58254<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Aneta<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>234<\/td>\n<td>58212<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Michigan City<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>263<\/td>\n<td>58259<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Petersburg<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>162<\/td>\n<td>58272<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Tolna<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>136<\/td>\n<td>58380<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Pekin<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>75<\/td>\n<td>58361<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dahlen<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>58224<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kloten<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Mapes<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Pelto<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Whitman<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>The old site list also carried a separate entry called &#8220;Michigan&#8221; alongside &#8220;Michigan City&#8221; &mdash; the two are the same place under an abbreviated name and are merged here into the one incorporated city.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>58344 &mdash; Lakota<\/li>\n<li>58254 &mdash; McVille<\/li>\n<li>58212 &mdash; Aneta<\/li>\n<li>58259 &mdash; Michigan City<\/li>\n<li>58272 &mdash; Petersburg<\/li>\n<li>58380 &mdash; Tolna<\/li>\n<li>58361 &mdash; Pekin<\/li>\n<li>58224 &mdash; Dahlen<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Kloten, Mapes, Pelto, and Whitman have no post office of their own and are served by the ZIP code of the nearest incorporated city.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Nelson County lies on the Drift Prairie, a gently rolling glacial till landscape dotted with small lakes, sloughs, and potholes left by the retreat of the last ice sheet. The Sheyenne River crosses the county&#8217;s southwestern corner, and several coulees drain north and east toward the Forest River and the Red River basin. Of the county&#8217;s total area, 982 square miles are land and 27 square miles are water.<\/p>\n<p>Nelson County borders <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/ramsey-county\/\">Ramsey County<\/a> to the northwest, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/walsh-county\/\">Walsh County<\/a> to the northeast, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/grand-forks-county\/\">Grand Forks County<\/a> to the east, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/steele-county-north-dakota\/\">Steele County<\/a> to the southeast, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/griggs-county\/\">Griggs County<\/a> to the south, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/eddy-county-north-dakota\/\">Eddy County<\/a> to the southwest, and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/benson-county\/\">Benson County<\/a> to the west.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>The county&#8217;s population was 3,015 at the 2020 census, continuing a long decline from its early-1900s peak of over 8,000. Lakota, the county seat, is the largest community at 683 residents; McVille is second at 392. Nelson County&#8217;s median household income runs below the North Dakota median of $76,525, reflecting its farm-dependent, thinly populated economy. Population density is roughly three people per square mile, among the lowest in the state.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Agriculture drives the county&#8217;s economy &mdash; small grains, sunflowers, soybeans, and cattle on the Drift Prairie&#8217;s rolling farmland. Lakota is home to Nelson County Health System, the county&#8217;s hospital and clinic, and to Nelson County High School, formed from the consolidation of the area&#8217;s smaller districts. Grain elevators along the BNSF line through McVille and Lakota remain the backbone of local commerce.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>Nelson County was created by the Dakota Territory legislature on March 2, 1883, and organized on June 9 of that year. It was named for Nelson E. Nelson, a territorial legislator from Grand Forks County who helped secure the county&#8217;s creation. Settlement followed the arrival of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific branch lines in the 1880s and 1890s, which platted most of the county&#8217;s present-day towns as shipping points for wheat.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>U.S. Route 2 crosses the northern part of the county, and North Dakota Highways 1, 15, 32, and 35 connect its towns to surrounding counties.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Grand Forks &mdash; 60 miles east<\/li>\n<li>Devils Lake &mdash; 35 miles northwest<\/li>\n<li>Fargo &mdash; 100 miles southeast<\/li>\n<li>Grafton &mdash; 55 miles north<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The nearest commercial airport is Grand Forks International Airport, about an hour&#8217;s drive east.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Nelson County, North Dakota?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt is in northeastern North Dakota, on the Drift Prairie between Devils Lake and the Red River Valley.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Nelson County?<\/strong><br \/>\nNelson County had a population of 3,015 at the 2020 census.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Nelson County?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe county covers 1,009 square miles (2,613 km2), of which 982 square miles are land.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Nelson County?<\/strong><br \/>\nLakota is the county seat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Nelson County?<\/strong><br \/>\nSeven incorporated cities &mdash; Lakota, McVille, Aneta, Michigan City, Petersburg, Tolna, and Pekin &mdash; plus the community of Dahlen and four unincorporated places.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes are in Nelson County?<\/strong><br \/>\nEight ZIP codes serve the county, including 58344 (Lakota), 58254 (McVille), and 58212 (Aneta).<\/p>\n<p><strong>What language and dialect notes apply here?<\/strong><br \/>\nNelson County was settled largely by Norwegian and German-Russian immigrant farmers, and Scandinavian surnames and Lutheran church rolls still mark many of its townships.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/north-dakota\/\">Towns and villages in North Dakota<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nelson County is a county in North Dakota, United States, on the eastern edge of the Drift Prairie between Devils Lake and the Red River Valley. It had a population of 3,015 at the 2020 census and covers 1,009 square miles (2,613 km2), centred near 47\u00b055\u2032N 98\u00b012\u2032W. Lakota is the county seat, and its postal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Nelson County, North Dakota","_seopress_titles_desc":"Nelson County, ND: population 3,015, county seat Lakota, 7 cities, ZIP codes, geography, history and neighboring counties.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-6746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-north-dakota","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6746"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10369,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6746\/revisions\/10369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}