Water stress is caused by an imbalance of natural water supply and anthropogenic water demands. Managing water demand is an easier, more cost-effective, and more sustainable way to manage water stress. However, there are few studies that assess or understand the impacts of managing water demands on water stress. This study models America’s water stress at the county-scale due to recent demands and over 100 years of daily climate variability, and investigates the sensitivity of the county-level stress to different sectoral demands. In the last decade, water availability has increased, and the severity and duration of water stress have been moderated. However, water stress has intensified in the Upper Missouri basin and the Southern Great Plains, which have suffered from chronic water stress. Managing agricultural and public water demand can mitigate water stress effectively in the largest areas in the continental United States, and managing agricultural, public, livestock, and thermoelectric water demands can significantly reduce water stress where these sectoral demands are high. In summary, this study shows how demand management can be effective in controlling and mitigating regional to national water stress.