The shale boom is affecting thousands of small communities across the United States. We’ve heard comments like the ones below from locals in Williston and Watford City. These are just two of the towns where Canary operates. How has your community been affected?
“I don’t know anyone who can’t find a job.”
According to a February 2011 Gallup poll, North Dakota has the best job market in the country.[Source] As of 2012, the state had the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 3.2%. In the Bakken region, that number drops to just 1.8%.[Source]
“My grandkids have too many students in their classes.”
Williams County, North Dakota, is expecting a meteoric population expansion of 8% by the start of the next decade.[Source] The change is already hitting school districts: Watford City’s school district’s total K-12 enrollment was 521 students in 2008. It grew to 867 in 2013 and is projected to exceed capacity (of 1,125) by 2015, hitting 1,622 by 2018 and continuing to grow[Source, pg. 9].
