Nicknamed the “Peace Garden State” and the “Roughrider State” located in America’s midwestern and northern regions, North Dakota shipped US$8.7 billion worth of products around the globe in 2025.

That dollar amount reflects a 65.4% expansion from $5.25 billion four years earlier in 2022.

Year over year, the overall value of North Dakota’s exports accelerated by 27% starting from $6.83 billion for 2024.

North Dakota ranks as America’s 36th most lucrative exporter by state lagging front-runners including Texas, California, New York State, Louisiana, Illinois and Florida.

The value of North Dakota’s exports equals 0.4% of the United States’ overall export sales for 2025, down from 0.3% one year prior.

North Dakota’s exported products represent 10.6% of the state’s total economic output or nominal Gross Domestic Product in 2025 ($81.9 billion).

Given North Dakota’s population of 799,358 people, its total US$8.7 billion in 2025 exports translates to roughly $10,850 for every resident in the Peace Garden State. That dollar metric eclipses the average $8,600 per capita in 2024.

North Dakota’s unemployment rate was 2.3% at the end of June 2026, down from 2.6% one year earlier per YCharts.

North Dakota’s Top 10 Exports

The following export products represent the highest dollar value in North Dakota global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from North Dakota.

Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.

1. Light petroleum oils: US$3.8 billion (43.7% of total North Dakotan exports)
2. Crude petroleum oils: $1.2 billion (14.1%)
3. Electrical energy: $307.9 million (3.5%)
4. Electrical energy: $237.5 million (2.7%)
5. Ethyl alcohol, other denatured spirits: $228.5 million (2.6%)
6. Track-laying tractors: $196.7 million (2.3%)
7. Wheat, meslin: $190.6 million (2.2%)
8. Mechanical front-end shovel loaders: $189.1 million (2.2%)
9. Large tractors: $170.9 million (2%)
10. Corn: $156 million (1.8%)

North Dakota’s top 10 exports exceeded three-quarters (77.2%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.

Posting triple-digit growth among North Dakota’s top 10 export categories were North Dakotan exports of electrical energy (up 803.1% from 2024) and light petroleum oils (up 120.5%).

Other leading gainers were soya beans (up 72%) then denatured spirits including ethyl alcohol (up 19.9%).

The severest year-over-year losers were North Dakotan exports of corn pulled down by a -43.7%, large tractors (down -34.1%), track-laying tractors (down -30%) and mechanical front-end shovel loaders (down -15.9%).

More Key Facts about North Dakota’s International Trade

North Dakota posted a $4.75 billion trade surplus exporting and importing products during 2025. That dollar amount reflects a 85.3% increase compared to $2.56 billion in black ink for 2024.

Another way of saying surplus or deficit is positive or negative net exports. In a nutshell, the term “net exports” quantifies the amount by which foreign spending on a state’s goods or services exceeds or lags that same state’s spending on foreign goods or services.

Import of products into North Dakota totaled US$3.9 billion for 2025.

Below are North Dakota’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2025.

1. Platinum scrap: US$240.7 million (6.1% of total North Dakotan imports)
2. Crude petroleum oils: $226.2 million (5.8%)
3. Passenger transport vehicles (diesel): $145.7 million (3.7%)
4. Internal combustion piston engines: $125.6 million (3.2%)
5. Soyabeans: $101.3 million (2.6%)
6. Processed petroleum oils (not biodiesel): $94 million (2.4%)
7. Anhydrous ammonia: $93.8 million (2.4%)
8. Electronic integrated circuits: $74.9 million (1.9%)
9. Iron or steel casing for energy drilling: $72.8 million (1.9%)
10. Colza oilseed, rapeseed (low erucic acid): $71.6 million (1.8%)

Overall, North Dakota has positive net exports in the international trade of petroleum oils. In turn, these cashflows indicate North Dakota’s competitive advantages under petroleum-related categories.

North Dakota’s Major Trade Partners

The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased 95.2% worth of the total value of products exported from North Dakota during 2025.

1. Canada: US$7 billion (80.6% of total North Dakotan exports)
2. Mexico: $818.6 million (9.4%)
3. Australia: $163.8 million (1.9%)
4. Czech Republic: $69.6 million (0.8%)
5. Taiwan: $50.5 million (0.6%)
6. Germany: $46.1 million (0.5%)
7. mainland China: $37.1 million (0.4%)
8. Japan: $29 million (0.3%)
9. Brazil: $28.3 million (0.3%)
10. France: $20.9 million (0.2%)

North Dakota’s top trade partners in North America (Canada and Mexico) bought 90% of the overall value of exports sold from the Peace Garden State. That percentage grew from 85.7% for the prior year.

North Dakotan Export Companies

Just one North Dakota-based corporation ranks among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Headquartered in the North Dakotan capital city of Bismarck, MDU Resources Group delivers regulated energy, construction materials plus related goods and services to its customers.

According to Zippia, below are examples of other relatively large companies based in North Dakota.

• Border States (electrical supplies, related products)
• RDO Equipment Co. (industrial machinery)
• Titan Machinery (agricultural, construction equipment)

Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
 

North Dakota’s capital is Bismarck, a city nicknamed after Otto von Bismarck–former chancellor of the German Empire.

See also Nevada’s Top 10 Exports, Montana’s Top 10 Exports, Wisconsin’s Top 10 Exports, Arizona’s Top 10 Exports and Maryland’s Top 10 Exports

Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on August 3, 2026

Forbes, 2021 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 3, 2026

GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2021 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on August 3, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 3, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 3, 2026

State Symbols USA, State Nicknames. Accessed on August 3, 2026

United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: North Dakota. Accessed on August 3, 2026

USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on August 3, 2026

Wikipedia, List of North Dakota Companies. Accessed on August 3, 2026

Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on August 3, 2026

Wikipedia, North Dakota. Accessed on August 3, 2026

YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on August 3, 2026

Zippia, These are the 100 largest companies in North Dakota. Accessed on August 3, 2026