Printable Blank Map of North Dakota with Counties
Delineating all 53 counties across 70,698 square miles of the northern Great Plains, this blank vector map of North Dakota captures the Peace Garden State from the fertile Red River Valley west to the rugged Badlands and the Missouri River. Projected in NAD83 North Dakota North (EPSG:32120), it provides clean coordinate geometry for Bakken oil formation mapping, glacial pothole wetland studies, and county seat labeling.
About this Blank Map of North Dakota
This printable blank map represents North Dakota on the authentic NAD83 (2011) / WGS84 ellipsoidal datum. All 6 interactive visual variants—including Blank Outline, Counties Boundaries, Centroid Labels, Capital City Marker (Bismarck), and High-Contrast Printer B&W—are generated synchronously from identical coordinate geometry.
| Specification | Value | Compliance & Source |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction / Entity | North Dakota | US State |
| Subdivisions Rendered | 53 Counties | Verified Topological Polygon Mesh |
| Primary Capital City | Bismarck | Marked on the capital variant |
| Cartographic Projection | NORTH DAKOTA NORTH | Distortion-Minimized Coordinate Map |
| Reference Datum | NAD83 (2011) / WGS84 | NOAA NGS / EPSG:32120 (State Plane Coordinate System) |
North Dakota Counties at a Glance
- Counties
- 53
- Capital
- Bismarck
- Population (2020)
- 779,079
- Land area
- 69,001 sq mi
Most populous counties
- Cass County (Fargo): 184,517 people, 23.7% of the state
- Burleigh County (Bismarck): 98,464 people, 12.6% of the state
- Grand Forks County (Grand Forks): 73,181 people, 9.4% of the state
- Ward County (Minot): 69,926 people, 9.0% of the state
- Williams County (Williston): 40,945 people, 5.3% of the state
Largest counties by land area
- McKenzie County (Watford City): 2,760.1 sq mi
- Stutsman County (Jamestown): 2,221.9 sq mi
- McLean County (Washburn): 2,110.3 sq mi
- Williams County (Williston): 2,077.6 sq mi
- Ward County (Minot): 2,013 sq mi
Neighboring states
Figures: US Census Bureau 2020 Census populations and Gazetteer land areas. The full sortable list with seats and FIPS codes is on the North Dakota county map & list page.
Geography Notes: North Dakota
North Dakota North Lambert Conformal Conic Standard
Two State Plane zones (North and South) divide North Dakota along county boundaries to maintain horizontal accuracy.
Standard parallels at 47°26'N and 48°44'N anchor the North zone, preserving conformal angles across the wheat-producing northern tiers and the Bakken shale formation.
Surveyors working on public section corners and pipeline rights-of-way rely on this datum realization to maintain scale error under 1:10,000 across rolling prairie terrain.
Conformal conic standard parallels preserve rectangular county outlines from Grand Forks west to Williston.
The Red River Valley vs The Missouri Plateau & Badlands
North Dakota rises in three distinct topographical steps from east to west across the state.
The Red River Valley in the east features exceptionally flat, black lacustrine soils deposited by ancient Glacial Lake Agassiz, supporting high-yield sugar beet, soybean, and wheat agriculture in Cass and Grand Forks counties.
Western North Dakota occupies the Missouri Plateau, cut deeply by the Little Missouri River into the colorful, eroded sandstone buttes of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in McKenzie and Billings counties.
McKenzie County in western North Dakota covers 2,742 square miles, standing as the state's largest county and the epicenter of Bakken energy production.
Curated Classroom Activities & Spatial Labs for North Dakota
Pedagogical lesson plans and spatial analysis activities designed specifically for printable vector maps of North Dakota:
Red River vs Missouri River Drainage Lab
Objective: Trace the continental drainage divide separating waters flowing to Hudson Bay from those flowing to the Gulf of Mexico.
Materials: Printed blank map of North Dakota, blue and brown highlighters, hydrological atlas.
- Trace the Red River of the North forming the eastern border with Minnesota, flowing north into Canada.
- Trace the Missouri River entering from Montana, impounded into Lake Sakakawea, and flowing south past Bismarck.
- Draw the drainage divide separating the Hudson Bay watershed from the Mississippi-Missouri basin.
The Bakken Energy Boom & Western Counties Study
Objective: Analyze how oil extraction transformed demographics in western North Dakota counties.
Materials: Printed North Dakota county outline map, colored pencils.
- Highlight the core Bakken formation counties: McKenzie, Williams, Mountrail, and Dunn.
- Locate Burleigh County (Bismarck) as the state capital along the Missouri River.
- Highlight Cass County (Fargo) as the state's primary commercial and population center.
The 6 Synchronized Variants Explained
We generate 6 synchronized variations of North Dakota from the same master vector dataset. Each variant is aligned to identical coordinate geometry:
1. Blank Boundary Outline
The foundational boundary outline of North Dakota. Rendered with a clean exterior stroke and zero fill—the optimal version for in-class labeling exams, custom cartographic overlays, or clean graphic design.
2. With Subdivisions (53 Counties)
Displays the exterior boundary plus internal administrative borders for all 53 counties. Each subdivision possesses a unique SVG element ID for direct styling and choropleth shading in vector editors.
3. Labeled with True Centroids
Features authentic typographic labels positioned at each administrative territory's mathematical center of mass. Perfect as a master grading answer key or self-study reference sheet.
4. Adjacent-Contrast Color Fill
Filled using an adjacency-contrast pastel palette so neighboring jurisdictions never blend together. Excellent for tactile visual discrimination and regional geography units.
5. With Capital City (Bismarck)
Pinpoints the official capital city of Bismarck using a high-visibility star marker and typographic callout, positioned at precise geodetic coordinates.
6. High-Contrast Printer B&W
Optimized specifically for monochrome desktop laser and inkjet printers. Uses pure black vector paths (#000000) and ultra-clean white fills to prevent ink-bleeding and toner smudging.
Tools to Use With This Map
- Interactive US county mapZoom into county lines on a live map.
- What county am I in?Find your county from your device location.
- True size comparisonDrag North Dakota over other places to compare real areas.
- Map area calculatorDraw a shape and measure its area on the WGS84 ellipsoid.
- Color a mapShade regions online and download your own map.
North Dakota County Map & Full List
See 2020 Census populations, seats, land areas and FIPS codes for every county in North Dakota, with an on-page map and CSV export.
Need Definitions for Map Projections, SVG Vectors, or Centroids?
Explore our centralized Cartography Glossary for detailed definitions of national and global geodetic datums, equal-area vs. conformal projections, TopoJSON topological arcs, and choropleth classification standards.
Frequently Asked Questions About North Dakota Blank Maps
Authoritative answers to common questions regarding printing, licensing, vector customization, and curriculum use:
What is the largest county by land area in North Dakota?▼
McKenzie County in western North Dakota (seat: Watford City) is the largest county by area at 2,742 square miles.
Why does the Red River flow north on this map?▼
The Red River of the North is one of the few rivers in the US that flows north, draining ancient glacial lakebeds into Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay in Canada.
Why are there 53 counties in North Dakota?▼
Counties were established between 1873 and 1916 under the Public Land Survey System to ensure that homesteaders across the Dakota prairie had accessible local county courthouses.