Because Watford City is part of the Bakken field, the North Dakota oil boom has significantly increased population and construction since the 2010 census.

[8] The main offices of Frontier Energy Group, First International Bank, and the headquarters of McKenzie Electric Cooperative are in Watford City.

In 1913, a few prospective businessmen located on the townsite of the future Watford City in anticipation of the arrival of the first Great Northern Railroad train.

Building began immediately, and many businesses and homes were moved from Schafer, which eventually became a ghost town.

[9][10] A year later the town added "City" to its name to differentiate itself from Wolford in Pierce County.

Two years later the grade was ninety feet high and nearly a mile long, but the project was abandoned shortly before the United States entered World War I.

[9] Village officers were elected in 1915, and they concerned themselves with such tasks as impounding stray horses and cattle, prohibiting swine and chickens from town, locating hitching posts, and removing hay stacks from Main Street.

During the Great Depression, a water and sanitary system was completed using labor mostly paid by the Public Works Administration.

[9] In 1940, Watford City won a hotly contested campaign for county seat, defeating Alexander and Arnegard and taking the prize from Schafer.

At first there was difficulty finding suitable office space, and a recently constructed hospital was sold to the county for use as a courthouse.

[9] Watford City Air Force Station (formally Alexander) was opened nearby in 1979.

[17] The wettest time of year is late spring to early summer; winter is the driest season.