Demographics
Historical population| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|
| 1880 | 537 | | — |
|---|
| 1890 | 5,393 | | 904.3% |
|---|
| 1900 | 6,919 | | 28.3% |
|---|
| 1910 | 10,345 | | 49.5% |
|---|
| 1920 | 11,618 | | 12.3% |
|---|
| 1930 | 10,983 | | −5.5% |
|---|
| 1940 | 10,061 | | −8.4% |
|---|
| 1950 | 8,876 | | −11.8% |
|---|
| 1960 | 8,078 | | −9.0% |
|---|
| 1970 | 7,102 | | −12.1% |
|---|
| 1980 | 6,698 | | −5.7% |
|---|
| 1990 | 5,921 | | −11.6% |
|---|
| 2000 | 5,890 | | −0.5% |
|---|
| 2010 | 5,457 | | −7.4% |
|---|
| 2020 | 5,703 | | 4.5% |
|---|
| 2024 (est.) | 5,590 | [11] | −2.0% |
|---|
|
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Ransom County was $185,210. [16]
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 2,305 estimated households in Ransom County with an average of 2.32 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $74,521. Approximately 9.3% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Ransom County has an estimated 62.5% employment rate, with 21.0% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 90.6% holding a high school diploma. [2]
The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (94.1%), Spanish (1.1%), Indo-European (3.9%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.8%), and Other (0.1%).
The median age in the county was 41.1 years.
Ransom County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
| Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) | Pop. 1980 [17] | Pop. 1990 [18] | Pop. 2000 [19] | Pop. 2010 [20] | Pop. 2020 [21] |
|---|
| White alone (NH) | 6,647
(99.24%) | 5,872
(99.17%) | 5,749
(97.61%) | 5,285
(96.85%) | 5,363
(94.04%) |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 3
(0.04%) | 4
(0.07%) | 11
(0.19%) | 19
(0.35%) | 36
(0.63%) |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 7
(0.10%) | 13
(0.22%) | 19
(0.32%) | 21
(0.38%) | 18
(0.32%) |
| Asian alone (NH) | 14
(0.21%) | 7
(0.12%) | 14
(0.24%) | 20
(0.37%) | 24
(0.42%) |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | — | — | 0
(0.00%) | 0
(0.00%) | 0
(0.00%) |
| Other race alone (NH) | 13
(0.19%) | 1
(0.02%) | 4
(0.07%) | 1
(0.02%) | 10
(0.18%) |
| Mixed race or multiracial (NH) | — | — | 45
(0.76%) | 45
(0.82%) | 123
(2.16%) |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 14
(0.21%) | 24
(0.41%) | 48
(0.81%) | 66
(1.21%) | 129
(2.26%) |
| Total | 6,698
(100.00%) | 5,921
(100.00%) | 5,890
(100.00%) | 5,457
(100.00%) | 5,703
(100.00%) |
2024 estimate
As of the 2024 estimate, there were 5,590 people and 2,305 households residing in the county. There were 2,553 housing units at an average density of 2.96 per square mile (1.1/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.8% White (92.2% NH White), 0.9% African American, 1.0% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.8% of the population. [22]
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 5,703 people, 2,246 households, and 1,420 families residing in the county. [23] The population density was 6.61 inhabitants per square mile (2.6/km2). There were 2,536 housing units at an average density of 2.94 per square mile (1.1/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.69% White, 0.67% African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.93% from some other races and 2.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.26% of the population. [24]
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 5,457 people, 2,310 households, and 1,466 families residing in the county. The population density was 6.33 inhabitants per square mile (2.4/km2). There were 2,656 housing units at an average density of 3.08 per square mile (1.2/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.82% White, 0.35% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from some other races and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.21% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 54.2% were German, 36.6% were Norwegian, 9.0% were Irish, 6.9% were Swedish, 5.1% were English, and 1.6% were American.
There were 2,310 households, 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.5% were non-families, and 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 45.2 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $46,044 and the median income for a family was $59,973. Males had a median income of $42,380 versus $28,209 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,995. About 7.5% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
Ransom County is a swing county in presidential elections, having voted for both parties an equal number of times between 1976 and 2020. It voted for the Democrat in the 2000 and 2012 gubernatorial elections, and for the Republican in 2004, 2008, and 2016. It is also a bellwether county at the presidential level, having voted for the winner in every presidential election between the 1964 and 1984 and again from 1992 to 2016. The county broke its bellwether streak in 1988 and 2020, voting for the Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis in 1988 and Republican nominee Donald Trump in 2020, who both would lose the general election.
Ransom County is one of the most Democratic counties in North Dakota. In the 2018 election for U.S. Senate, it gave Heidi Heitkamp her 4th-highest total (60.6%), behind only Sioux, Rolette, and Benson counties.
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United States
North Dakota 
