Living in North Dakota
North Dakota was once a state famous for farming, ghost towns, and not much else. It probably wasn’t a place you would plan on visiting, unless you were a fanatic for the blockbuster movie Fargo or driving cross-country on Interstate-94. Until now…
With new technological advances in oil drilling, North Dakota has a new claim to fame – the Bakken Formation. Oil wells seem to be popping up all over the place, which is impressive. But it is even more impressive when you realize that each well will bring in around $1 million per year. Land owning North Dakotans are literally become millionaires overnight. Hard workers are heading to North Dakota to fill countless jobs that are being created every time a well is drilled. No matter what your niche or what walk of life you come from there could be oil job opportunities in North Dakota. This is a good thing for North Dakota, the United States, and possible you.
With the constant increase in work, people are flocking to the wide-open lands of North Dakota. Ghost towns are repopulating. It’s reminiscent of the Great Alaska Gold Rush. The Bakken Formation takes up thousands upon thousands of acres of North Dakota. And for each acre, there are an equivalent number of acres of oil.
Two miles above the liquid gold are several small towns that you might soon be calling home. Sitting right above this sea of oil are towns that are growing like no one ever imagined possible in North Dakota. Living in one of these small towns is western living to the fullest. It’s hard work in cold weather for good money. It’s the new oil frontier.
North Dakota may soon be the wealthiest place in the United States, but no one would know it. Proud, hard-working men who still can’t believe they are worth several million dollars populate these towns. These are places where overnight millionaires have invested in used cars and garages instead of mansions and luxury automobiles, but things are changing. With the new oil, new people, and exponential potential, these towns are quickly changing. It’s an incredible situation. There is lots of money coming in to these communities in the form of taxes too, so schools, roads, and infrastructure are all first rate.
North Dakota has lots of land and lots of very small towns. In fact most of the towns in the oil region of western North Dakota number around 1,000 in population. When you live in one of these towns, people know you. It’s a nice welcoming feeling and with solid job prospects, now is the time to make the move. Sometimes the oil companies will even provide you with housing, which makes for an even easier transition than expected.
Two of the biggest oil towns are Stanley and Williston. Take a look”:
Stanley – Population: 1200, Area: 1.7 square miles
The town of Stanley, North Dakota sits directly on the Bakken Formation. It is believed that beneath the town limits is so much oil that it would be nearly impossible to drill a well and not strike oil. Because of the oil boom, Stanley is facing housing shortages, but this won’t be a problem for long.
Williston – Population: 12,000 Area: 7 square miles
With 12,000 people, Williston, North Dakota is a huge town for this part of the United States. Named after the Williston Basin, Williston sits directly in the middle of the Bakken Formation. This means that if you aren’t a farmer, you’re making your huge paychecks in the oil industry.
Other towns that exist above the Bakken Formation are Killdeer, Parshall, Minot, Dickinson, Tioga, Watford City, Beaver Lodge, Little Knife, Blue Butte, and several new towns are popping up quickly. These areas all hit the oil jackpot, no question about it, but the leading area for oil producing is Bowman County, which produces a high percentage of North Dakota’s oil.
North Dakota has been dubbed the new Middle East for oil. World-class companies like Ward Williston Oil, Chevron, Halliburton, and others could be your new employers. The majority of employers hiring in North Dakota are listed in our JobCenter.
You definitely want to look into job opportunities in North Dakota’s oil fields.