Burleigh County, North Dakota

Burleigh County
County
Burleigh County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 46°59′N100°28′W / 46.98°N 100.47°W / 46.98; -100.47
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Founded	January 4, 1873
Named for	Walter A. Burleigh
Seat	Bismarck
Largest city	Bismarck
Area
• Total	1,668 sq mi (4,320 km2)
• Land	1,633 sq mi (4,230 km2)
• Water	36 sq mi (90 km2)  2.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	98,458
• Estimate  (2023)	100,012
• Density	59/sq mi (23/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.burleighco.com

Burleigh County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 98,458, ^[1] making it the second most populous county in North Dakota. Its county seat is Bismarck, the state capital. ^[2] The county was named for Dakota Territory political figure Walter A. Burleigh.

History

The territorial legislature created Burleigh County on January 4, 1873, annexing territory from Buffalo County. Burleigh was not organized at that time, but the organization was effected on July 16, 1873. Its boundaries were altered in 1879, 1881, 1883, and twice in 1885. ^{[3] [4]}

Burleigh County is included in the Bismarck, ND Metropolitan Statistical Area, commonly called "Bismarck–Mandan".

Geography

The Missouri River flows south-southeasterly along the lower west boundary line of Burleigh County. The central part of the county is drained by south-flowing creeks. The county terrain consists of semi-arid low rolling hills, partially devoted to agriculture. ^[5] The terrain slopes to the south, and its western portion also slopes to the river valley. The terrain's highest point is on the upper portion of the east boundary line, at 2,060 ft (630 m) ASL. ^[6] The county has a total area of 1,668 square miles (4,320 km²), of which 1,633 square miles (4,230 km²) is land and 36 square miles (93 km²) (2.1%) is water. ^[7]

Major highways

• I-94
• US 83
• ND 14
• ND 36
• ND 41
• ND 1804

Transit

• Bis-Man Transit
• Jefferson Lines

Adjacent counties

• Sheridan County – north
• Kidder County – east
• Emmons County – south
• Morton County - southwest
• Oliver County – west
• McLean County – northwest

Protected areas

• Arena State Game Management Area
• Bunker Lake State Game Management Area
• Canfield Lake National Wildlife Refuge
• Florence Lake National Wildlife Refuge
• Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Sibley Nature Park
• Wilton Mine State Game Management Area (part)

Lakes

• Bunce Lake
• Bunker Lake
• Clear Lake
• Florence Lake
• Grass Lake
• Harriet Lake
• Horseshoe Lake
• Lonetree Lake
• Long Lake
• Mitchell Lake
• New Johns Lake (part)
• O'Brien Lake
• Pelican Lake
• Rice Lake

^[5]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	3,246		—
1890	4,247		30.8%
1900	6,081		43.2%
1910	13,087		115.2%
1920	15,578		19.0%
1930	19,769		26.9%
1940	22,736		15.0%
1950	25,673		12.9%
1960	34,016		32.5%
1970	40,714		19.7%
1980	54,811		34.6%
1990	60,131		9.7%
2000	69,416		15.4%
2010	81,308		17.1%
2020	98,458		21.1%
2023 (est.)	100,012	[8]	1.6%
U.S. Decennial Census [9] 1790-1960 [10] 1900-1990 [11] 1990-2000 [12] 2010-2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 98,458 people, 39,927 households, and 24,822 families in the county. ^[13] The population density was 60.3 inhabitants per square mile (23.3/km²) There were 42,692 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 81,308 people, 33,976 households, and 21,213 families in the county. The population density was 49.8 inhabitants per square mile (19.2/km²). There were 35,754 housing units at an average density of 21.9 per square mile (8.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.0% white, 4.2% American Indian, 0.6% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 61.0% were German, 21.1% were Norwegian, 8.1% were Russian, 6.8% were Irish, and 2.6% were American.

Of the 33,976 households, 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.6% were non-families, and 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 37.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $53,465 and the median income for a family was $71,103. Males had a median income of $44,944 versus $31,943 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,784. About 6.3% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Communities

Cities

• Bismarck (county seat)
• Lincoln
• Regan
• Wilton (partly in McLean County)
• Wing

Census-designated places

• Apple Valley
• Driscoll
• Menoken

Unincorporated communities

• Arena
• Baldwin
• Brittin
• McKenzie
• Moffit
• Sterling

Townships

• Apple Creek
• Boyd
• Burnt Creek
• Canfield
• Christiania
• Clear Lake
• Crofte
• Cromwell
• Driscoll
• Ecklund
• Estherville
• Florence Lake
• Francis
• Ghylin
• Gibbs
• Glenview
• Grass Lake
• Harriet-Lien
• Hay Creek
• Hazel Grove
• Logan
• Long Lake
• McKenzie
• Menoken
• Missouri
• Morton
• Naughton
• Painted Woods
• Richmond
• Rock Hill
• Schrunk
• Sibley Butte
• Steiber
• Sterling
• Taft
• Telfer
• Thelma
• Trygg
• Wild Rose
• Wilson
• Wing

Politics

Burleigh County voters have voted Republican for several decades. With the exception of 1964, no Democratic Party candidate has received even 40% of the county's vote after 1940.

United States presidential election results for Burleigh County, North Dakota ^[14]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	36,595	70.02%	14,215	27.20%	1,453	2.78%
2020	34,744	68.46%	14,348	28.27%	1,661	3.27%
2016	32,532	67.80%	10,881	22.68%	4,566	9.52%
2012	27,951	64.42%	14,122	32.55%	1,314	3.03%
2008	25,443	60.58%	15,600	37.14%	956	2.28%
2004	26,577	68.47%	11,621	29.94%	616	1.59%
2000	22,467	65.16%	9,842	28.54%	2,173	6.30%
1996	15,464	51.74%	10,679	35.73%	3,747	12.54%
1992	16,484	50.90%	8,940	27.61%	6,960	21.49%
1988	18,000	61.89%	10,760	37.00%	324	1.11%
1984	19,913	68.25%	8,781	30.10%	482	1.65%
1980	18,437	67.94%	6,129	22.59%	2,571	9.47%
1976	13,680	58.09%	9,188	39.02%	681	2.89%
1972	13,909	67.38%	5,841	28.29%	894	4.33%
1968	10,661	64.03%	5,139	30.87%	849	5.10%
1964	7,239	46.95%	8,120	52.66%	60	0.39%
1960	9,492	62.13%	5,761	37.71%	25	0.16%
1956	9,199	73.79%	3,231	25.92%	37	0.30%
1952	9,526	79.55%	2,400	20.04%	49	0.41%
1948	5,049	59.45%	3,117	36.70%	327	3.85%
1944	4,616	59.95%	3,061	39.75%	23	0.30%
1940	5,858	57.06%	4,350	42.37%	58	0.56%
1936	2,447	25.17%	6,314	64.94%	962	9.89%
1932	2,687	31.84%	5,621	66.61%	131	1.55%
1928	3,955	55.59%	3,076	43.23%	84	1.18%
1924	3,152	53.17%	379	6.39%	2,397	40.44%
1920	4,300	77.28%	943	16.95%	321	5.77%
1916	1,182	45.46%	1,267	48.73%	151	5.81%
1912	720	36.20%	609	30.62%	660	33.18%
1908	1,375	65.82%	660	31.59%	54	2.58%
1904	1,340	83.23%	237	14.72%	33	2.05%
1900	679	66.44%	339	33.17%	4	0.39%

Education

School districts include: ^[15]

K-12:

• Bismarck Public School District 1
• Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock Public School District 6
• Kidder County School District 1
• McClusky Public School District 19
• Wilton Public School District 1
• Wing Public School District 28

Elementary:

• Apple Creek Public School District 39
• Manning Public School District 45
• Menoken Public School District 33
• Naughton Public School District 25
• Sterling Public School District 35

Former districts:

• Montefiore Public School District 1 ^[16]

See also

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

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies". Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2006. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
4. "County History". North Dakota.gov. The State of North Dakota. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
5. Burleigh County ND Google Maps (accessed February 16, 2019)
6. ""Find an Altitude/Burleigh County" Google Maps (accessed February 16, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 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. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023" . Retrieved March 18, 2024.
9. "US Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
10. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
11. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
12. "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.
13. "US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
14. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
15. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Burleigh County, ND" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2022. - Text list
16. "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Burleigh County, ND" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022. - 2010 text list

External links

• Burleigh County official website
• A brief history of Burleigh County : with a chronology of some of the county's earlier days (1932) from the Digital Horizons website
• A brief history of Burleigh County : with a chronology of some of the outstanding events of the county's earlier days (1932) from the Digital Horizons website
• Burleigh County maps, Sheet 1 (northern) and Sheet 2 (southern), North Dakota DOT

46°59′N100°28′W / 46.98°N 100.47°W / 46.98; -100.47