The largest municipalities are Stjørdal, Steinkjer (the county seat), Levanger, Namsos, and Verdal, all with between 24,000 and 12,000 inhabitants.

The economy is primarily centered on services, although there are significant industries in agriculture, fisheries, hydroelectricity and forestry.

Nord-Trøndelag covered 22,412 square kilometres (8,653 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest county, and it consisted of 23 municipalities.

The district of Innherred runs along the east side of the Trondheimsfjord, and is the most populated area, with much farming.

The axis north–south through the country past Grong and along the west side of Trondheim Fjord is a main transport artery, including the European Route E6 and the Nordland Line.

Nord-Trøndelag bordered Nordland to the north, Sør-Trøndelag to the south, Sweden to the east and the Norwegian Sea to the west.

Areas on the eastern and northeastern shore of Trondheimsfjord (mainly in Stjørdal, Frosta, Levanger, Inderøy, Verdal, and Steinkjer) are fertile agricultural lowland, with grain fields and vegetables.

However, the spruce dominated forest (some birch) covers a much larger area, and Nord-Trøndelag is the second largest timber producing county in Norway (after Hedmark).

[7] Early agriculture was based mostly on animals, which allowed people to remain nomads and combine stockbreeding with gathering.

Several small communities with blast furnaces were established, located several days walk from the good agricultural land, generating trade and occupational specialization.

[10] Around this time, the area was split into counties, with the current Nord-Trøndleag consisting of parts of Stjørdølafylke, Skøynafylke, Øynafylke, Verdølafylke, Sparbyggjafylke and Naumdølafylke.

[12] The largest hof for worshiping Nordic mythology was at Mære and was a common site for animal sacrifice.

[13] In 997, Olaf Tryggvason established Nidaros (current-day Trondheim), in Sør-Trøndelag, started a series of attacks to conquer Innherred.

[18] Archbishop of Nidaros, Olav Engelbrektsson, started building a fortress in Steinvikholmen in Stjørdal, which was completed in 1532, and became the center of the archdiocese.

[24] In 1851, Marcus Thrane's public meetings caused riots demanding increased labor rights.

[22] The first steam-powered sawmill was established at Spillum in 1853, and forestry started becoming a profession, rather than a part-time work during the winter.

From the late 18th century, sail ships started running in regular traffic along the coast and in the fjord to Trondheim.

At the end of the 19th century, the Great Transformation took place, whereby the economy changed from being predominantly based on self-production to a professional trades.

[49] Agriculture is most common east of the Trondheimsfjord, the lower parts of Indre Namdal and Nærøy.

[53] Farms traditionally have a square lot of buildings, with the house, called a trønderlån, being thin and long.

[60] Large private forest owners include Værdalsbruket and Meraker Brug, while municipalities own 178 square kilometers (69 sq mi).

Owned by the county municipality and established in 1919,[64] it also operates two wind farms, Vikna and Hundhammerfjellet.

[65] Aker Verdal manufacturers jackets for oil platforms; established in 1976, it is among the largest employers in the county.

[67] The state-owned Nord-Trøndelag University College has campuses in Levanger, Steinkjer, Stjørdal and Namsos, and provides undergraduate education to 4,460 pupils.

[70] The traditional cuisine consisted of five meals per day, and contained herring, porridge, dairy products and flat bread, with the potato coming into use during the 19th century.

[71] Local specialties include ginger ale, akvavit, sodd, while it was common to use grævfisk and rakfisk (raw rotten fish) in the mountainous areas.

[76] Three bands Åge Aleksandersen, Hans Rotmo and DDE are the most successful music artists, having created the genre trønderrock.

Trønder-Avisa, published in Steinkjer, is the only county-wide newspaper, although the Trondheim-based Adresseavisen also covers the county.

Local newspapers, most of which cover a single municipality, are Frostingen, Inderøyningen, Innherreds Folkeblad og Verdalingen, Levanger-Avisa, Lokalavisa Verran Namdalseid, Meråkerposten, Snåsningen, Steinkjer-Avisa, Stjørdalens Blad and Ytringen.

[79] The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation has offices in Steinkjer and runs radio programs exclusively for the county.