Electric Consumer

Editor: Katerine G., Editor & Data Researcher · Research & publishing: Electric Consumer Editorial Team · Data retrieved · Sources named on this page: EIA, Census Bureau · How we got these numbers · Report an error

Who heats with electricity where it is cold in North Dakota?

129,646homes in North Dakota heat mainly with electricity in counties that are cold in a normal year

All 53 North Dakota counties average at least 4,000 heating degree days in a normal year, and 40% of the 325,079 occupied homes heat mainly with electricity. Rank 27 of 35 by count, 6 by share. Cass County holds the most: 40,406 electric-heated homes at 8,941 heating degree days.

Where North Dakota sits among the states

Share of homes that heat with electricity in cold counties, by state, one tile per stateAlaska: no data in this seriesAKMaine: 10.1% of homesMEVermont: 8.1% of homesVTNew Hampshire: 10.7% of homesNHWashington: 57.7% of homesWAIdaho: 35.0% of homesIDMontana: 26.6% of homesMTNorth Dakota: 39.9% of homesNDMinnesota: 18.8% of homesMNIllinois: 18.2% of homesILWisconsin: 17.3% of homesWIMichigan: 11.6% of homesMINew York: 14.4% of homesNYRhode Island: 12.1% of homesRIMassachusetts: 17.9% of homesMAOregon: 53.1% of homesORNevada: 8.7% of homesNVWyoming: 23.3% of homesWYSouth Dakota: 32.6% of homesSDIowa: 24.3% of homesIAIndiana: 30.7% of homesINOhio: 25.6% of homesOHPennsylvania: 24.8% of homesPANew Jersey: 15.6% of homesNJConnecticut: no data in this seriesCTCalifornia: 2.0% of homesCAUtah: 16.4% of homesUTColorado: 25.2% of homesCONebraska: 31.2% of homesNEMissouri: 37.0% of homesMOKentucky: 49.5% of homesKYWest Virginia: 45.5% of homesWVVirginia: 32.2% of homesVAMaryland: 42.6% of homesMDDelaware: 37.0% of homesDEArizona: 0.9% of homesAZNew Mexico: 13.1% of homesNMKansas: 26.5% of homesKSArkansas: 1.9% of homesARTennessee: 9.9% of homesTNNorth Carolina: 5.6% of homesNCSouth Carolina: 0.0% of homesSCDistrict of Columbia: no data in this seriesDCOklahoma: 0.5% of homesOKLouisiana: 0.0% of homesLAMississippi: 0.0% of homesMSAlabama: 0.0% of homesALGeorgia: 0.4% of homesGAHawaii: no data in this seriesHITexas: 0.1% of homesTXFlorida: 0.0% of homesFL

Darker is a larger share. North Dakota is outlined.

North Dakota: cold counties and electric heat

North Dakota cold counties, electric heating
Cass County81,66849.540,4068,941-2%31.2
Grand Forks County31,04546.414,4029,444-3%11.1
Burleigh County40,36126.410,6568,972-1%8.2
Ward County28,29033.79,5219,296-2%7.3
Williams County15,30842.96,5619,190-2%5.1
Stark County13,21736.44,8068,671-1%3.7
McKenzie County5,91062.13,6688,758-2%2.8
Richland County6,76445.93,1038,616-3%2.4
Stutsman County9,29530.12,8029,202-3%2.2
Morton County13,52918.02,4388,718-2%1.9
Barnes County4,85248.12,3369,168-3%1.8
Rolette County3,68662.12,29010,184-4%1.8
Ramsey County5,18539.02,0219,869-4%1.6
Mountrail County3,83943.71,6769,398-2%1.3
Bottineau County2,69559.71,6109,724-2%1.2
Walsh County4,45030.51,3599,706-4%1.0
Traill County3,31640.11,3299,148-1%1.0
Mercer County3,59433.21,1958,784-2%0.9
McLean County4,26126.91,1479,027-2%0.9
Ransom County2,30549.01,1308,790-2%0.9

Largest 20 of 53 cold counties, ranked by electric-heated homes. The 33 smaller cold counties are in the CSV. All counties, CSV.

Where the electric-heated homes are

The 3 largest counties, Cass County, Grand Forks County, Burleigh County, hold 50% of the 129,646 electric-heated homes in North Dakota cold counties. The highest electric-heat share among cold counties with 5,000+ homes is McKenzie County at 62%. The coldest, Cavalier County, averages 10,222 heating degree days; North Dakota as a whole averages 9,106 when weighted by homes.

electric-heated homes, North Dakota cold counties, 12 largest

  • Cass County40,406
  • Grand Forks County14,402
  • Burleigh County10,656
  • Ward County9,521
  • Williams County6,561
  • Stark County4,806
  • McKenzie County3,668
  • Richland County3,103
  • Stutsman County2,802
  • Morton County2,438
  • Barnes County2,336
  • Rolette County2,290

North Dakota: the 10 coldest counties

Cavalier County is coldest at 10,222 heating degree days with 37% electric heat. The 10 coldest hold 11,128 electric-heated homes.

North Dakota 10 coldest counties
CountyHomesElectric, %Normal HDDRecent HDD
Cavalier County1,53937.410,2229,862
Rolette County3,68662.110,1849,813
Towner County95861.310,1269,708
Ramsey County5,18539.09,8699,511
Nelson County1,29548.19,8229,486
Burke County93147.69,7909,608
Pierce County1,84048.19,7679,454
Pembina County2,95924.89,7339,352
Bottineau County2,69559.79,7249,508
Walsh County4,45030.59,7069,341

North Dakota: where electric heat is most common

Among counties with 2,000+ homes, McKenzie County is highest at 62% and Williams County is 10th at 43%.

North Dakota 10 counties with the highest electric heat share
CountyHomesElectric, %Normal HDDRecent HDD
McKenzie County5,91062.18,7588,572
Rolette County3,68662.110,1849,813
Bottineau County2,69559.79,7249,508
Cass County81,66849.58,9418,732
Ransom County2,30549.08,7908,629
Barnes County4,85248.19,1688,871
Grand Forks County31,04546.49,4449,163
Richland County6,76445.98,6168,397
Mountrail County3,83943.79,3989,182
Williams County15,30842.99,1908,966

Winter disconnections and price in North Dakota

North Dakota utilities logged 0.18 disconnections per 100 residential accounts a month in December to February 2024 and 0.42 in June to August.

At the 2025 average residential price of 11.81 cents a kWh, 1,000 kWh costs 118 dollars in North Dakota.

North Dakota in the ranking

North Carolina is 25th with 235,396 homes (5.6% of its homes). Utah is 26th with 180,092 homes (16.4% of its homes). Montana is 28th with 120,498 homes (26.6% of its homes). South Dakota is 29th with 117,036 homes (32.6% of its homes).

North Dakota beside 3 neighbors

North Dakota neighbors with a winter page
NeighborElectric homesShare, %Avg HDD
Minnesota430,26418.8%8,162
Montana120,49826.6%8,474
South Dakota117,03632.6%7,706

Look up your North Dakota county

  • Pick your North Dakota county.

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Sources

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Questions

How many North Dakota homes heat with electricity in cold counties?

129,646 homes, 39.9% of 325,079 occupied North Dakota homes, in 53 counties averaging 4,000+ heating degree days.

Which North Dakota county has the most electric-heated homes among its cold counties?

Cass County, with 40,406 of its 81,668 homes (50%) at 8,941 normal heating degree days.

Which North Dakota county is the coldest, and how many of its homes heat with electricity?

Cavalier County, at 10,222 normal heating degree days: 576 of 1,539 homes (37%).

How far did the last decade run from the North Dakota normal?

North Dakota cold counties averaged 2.2% below their 1991-2020 heating degree days over 2016-2025.

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129,646 homes in North Dakota heat mainly with electricity in counties that are cold in a normal year

Cite this page

Underlying data are U.S. government works (EIA, Census Bureau). Our tables and charts: CC BY 4.0, credit Electric Consumer. The access date fills in when you open this page.

APA

Electric Consumer. (2026). North Dakota winter exposure: 129,646 electric-heated homes in cold counties. Data as of 9 October 2026. Retrieved 9 October 2026, from https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/north-dakota.html

MLA

Electric Consumer. “North Dakota winter exposure: 129,646 electric-heated homes in cold counties.” Electric Consumer, data as of 9 October 2026, https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/north-dakota.html. Accessed 9 October 2026.

Chicago

Electric Consumer. “North Dakota winter exposure: 129,646 electric-heated homes in cold counties.” Data as of 9 October 2026. Accessed 9 October 2026. https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/north-dakota.html.

BibTeX

@misc{usedata_winter_states_north_dakota,
  author = "Electric Consumer",
  title = {North Dakota winter exposure: 129,646 electric-heated homes in cold counties},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/north-dakota.html},
  note = {Data as of 9 October 2026. Accessed 9 October 2026}
}
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