Billings County, North Dakota

Billings County
County
Billings County Courthouse in Medora, North Dakota
Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 47°02′N103°22′W / 47.04°N 103.37°W / 47.04; -103.37
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Founded	February 10, 1879 (created) May 4, 1886 (organized)
Named after	Frederick H. Billings
Seat	Medora
Largest city	Medora
Area
• Total	1,153 sq mi (2,990 km2)
• Land	1,149 sq mi (2,980 km2)
• Water	4.6 sq mi (12 km2)  0.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	945
• Estimate  (2022)	1,018
• Density	0.82/sq mi (0.32/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.billingscountynd.gov

Billings County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 945, ^[1] making it the second-least populous county in North Dakota. Its county seat and only incorporated place is Medora. ^[2]

The Territorial legislature authorized Billings County on February 10, 1879, naming it for Northern Pacific Railway president Frederick H. Billings. It was organized on May 4, 1886. The original county boundary was significantly altered since its creation, by actions in 1883, 1885, 1887, 1896, 1901 and 1904. Its most significant alterations came in 1907 (Bowman County partitioned off), 1912 (Golden Valley County partitioned off), and 1914 (Slope County partitioned off). ^{[3] [4]}

Geography

The Little Missouri River flows northward through the western portion of the county. Bullion Creek flows eastward into the southwestern corner of the county to discharge into the Little Missouri River.

Billings County terrain consists of rugged semi-arid hills in its western portion, giving way to more level ground in the east. ^[5] The terrain slopes to the east and south, with its highest terrain along its west boundary line, at 2,523 ft (769 m) ASL. ^[6]

Billings County has a total area of 1,153 square miles (2,990 km²), of which 1,149 square miles (2,980 km²) is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km²) (0.4%) is water. ^[7] The South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park lies in the central part of the county, just north of Medora.

Major highways

• Interstate 94
• U.S. Highway 85

Adjacent counties

• McKenzie County – north
• Dunn County – northeast
• Stark County – east
• Slope County – south
• Golden Valley County – west

Protected areas

• Little Missouri National Grassland (part)
• Rough Rider State Park
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park (South Unit) ^[8]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	1,323		—
1890	170		−87.2%
1900	975		473.5%
1910	10,186		944.7%
1920	3,126		−69.3%
1930	3,140		0.4%
1940	2,531		−19.4%
1950	1,777		−29.8%
1960	1,513		−14.9%
1970	1,198		−20.8%
1980	1,138		−5.0%
1990	1,108		−2.6%
2000	888		−19.9%
2010	783		−11.8%
2020	945		20.7%
2022 (est.)	1,018	[9]	7.7%
U.S. Decennial Census [10] 1790-1960 [11] 1900-1990 [12] 1990-2000 [13] 2010-2020 [1] [a]

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, there were 945 people.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 783 people, 358 households, and 223 families in the county. The population density was 0.7 inhabitants per square mile (0.27/km²). There were 484 housing units at an average density of 0.4 units per square mile (0.15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.6% white, 0.5% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% from other races, and 0.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 40.6% were German, 19.1% were Ukrainian, 17.7% were Norwegian, 9.3% were Irish, 7.4% were Russian, 5.0% were English, and 0.9% were American.

Of the 358 households, 19.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% were married couples living together, 1.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.7% were non-families, and 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age was 48.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $51,923 and the median income for a family was $61,250. Males had a median income of $46,806 versus $31,250 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,666. About 6.8% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Politics

Billings County voters have been traditionally Republican. In each of the last seven elections (as of 2024) the Republican candidate has received over seventy percent of the county's vote. ^[14] However, it has some third party or independent interest. Billings county gave Ross Perot over twenty percent of the vote in his 1992 and 1996 campaigns. ^{[15] [16]} It gave Pat Buchanan approximately six percent when he ran as the Reform Party's candidate in 2000. ^[17]

United States presidential election results for Billings County, North Dakota ^{[18] [b]}

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	543	83.93%	93	14.37%	11	1.70%
2020	541	85.20%	72	11.34%	22	3.46%
2016	495	81.82%	59	9.75%	51	8.43%
2012	472	81.66%	89	15.40%	17	2.94%
2008	375	75.15%	114	22.85%	10	2.00%
2004	449	79.61%	99	17.55%	16	2.84%
2000	394	75.05%	82	15.62%	49	9.33%
1996	281	55.42%	116	22.88%	110	21.70%
1992	279	41.15%	123	18.14%	276	40.71%
1988	437	66.31%	211	32.02%	11	1.67%
1984	505	77.34%	133	20.37%	15	2.30%
1980	524	76.05%	122	17.71%	43	6.24%
1976	351	51.32%	285	41.67%	48	7.02%
1972	509	69.82%	192	26.34%	28	3.84%
1968	395	61.91%	174	27.27%	69	10.82%
1964	340	49.42%	348	50.58%	0	0.00%
1960	368	47.92%	400	52.08%	0	0.00%
1956	437	63.43%	248	35.99%	4	0.58%
1952	674	82.00%	143	17.40%	5	0.61%
1948	372	50.54%	311	42.26%	53	7.20%
1944	354	62.54%	209	36.93%	3	0.53%
1940	663	62.08%	404	37.83%	1	0.09%
1936	329	26.70%	729	59.17%	174	14.12%
1932	295	27.34%	760	70.44%	24	2.22%
1928	458	52.22%	412	46.98%	7	0.80%
1924	421	48.34%	32	3.67%	418	47.99%
1920	787	91.51%	61	7.09%	12	1.40%
1916	306	49.12%	276	44.30%	41	6.58%
1912	671	35.33%	547	28.80%	681	35.86%
1908	768	73.70%	236	22.65%	38	3.65%
1904	256	85.05%	37	12.29%	8	2.66%
1900	158	74.18%	51	23.94%	4	1.88%

Recreation

The Bully Pulpit Golf Course is located three miles south of Medora and the Maah Daah Hey Trail single track non-motorized trail starts 30 miles south of Medora.

Communities

City

• Medora (county seat)

Unorganized Territories

There are no townships in Billings County, but the United States Census Bureau divides the county into two unorganized territories:

• North Billings, which consists of all of the county north of I-94, had a population of 566 at the 2020 census. ^[19]
• South Billings, which consists of all of the county south of I-94 outside Medora, had a population of 258 at the 2020 Census. ^[20]

Unincorporated communities

• Fairfield
• Gorham
• Fryburg
• Sully Springs

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Billings County, North Dakota

Notes

1. The total for 1910 includes populations (8,009) of townships taken to form Golden Valley in 1912, and Slope Counties in 1915.
2. In 1912, the leading "other" candidate, Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, received 495 votes, while Socialist candidate Eugene Debs received 161 votes and Prohibition candidate Eugene Chafin received 25 votes.

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "County History". Official Portal for North Dakota State Government. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
4. "ND County History/Billings County (accessed February 14, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
5. Billings County ND Google Maps (accessed February 14, 2019)
6. ""Find an Altitude" Billings County ND - Google Maps (accessed February 14, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
7. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
8. Natl Park Srvc/TRNP/South Unit Map (accessed February 14, 2019)
9. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022" . Retrieved April 4, 2023.
10. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
11. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
12. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
13. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
14. "President Map - Election Results 2008". The New York Times. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
15. David Leip's Presidential Election Atlas - 1992 statistics
16. David Leip's Presidential Election Atlas - 1996 statistics
17. David Leip's Presidential Election Atlas - 2000 statistics
18. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
19. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
20. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved February 5, 2021.

External links

• Billings County map, North Dakota DOT
• Official website

47°02′N103°22′W / 47.04°N 103.37°W / 47.04; -103.37