Per the Nihon Shoki and other ancient chronicles, Noshiro is the location where an expedition sent by the imperial court led by Abe no Hirafu landed in 658 AD with orders to force the local Emishi tribes into submission.

The area of present-day Noshiro was part of ancient Dewa Province, dominated by the Satake clan during the Edo period, who ruled Kubota Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate.

The city of Noshiro was created by the merger of the town of Noshirominato and the villages of Shinonome and Sakaki (all formerly from Yamamoto District) on October 1, 1940.

[5] Noshiro has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 20 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Akita 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.