Bottineau County, North Dakota


Bottineau County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,379. and was estimated to be 6,391 in 2024, The county seat and the largest city is Bottineau. Bottineau County has several lakes, predominantly in the north and east of the county. Bottineau County is home to Lake Metagoshe & Lake Metagoshe State Park, which is located in the north section of the county.
The Territorial legislature identified Bottineau as being one of the original counties of the territory on January 4, 1873. It was created on July 17, 1884. It is named for Pierre Bottineau, a Métis pioneer, hunter, and trapper who became a successful land speculator.
Bottineau is well known for its winter park, snowmobiling, and ice fishing. Manitoba and Saskatchewan are on its northern border.
WWW Official Site

Geography

Bottineau County lies on the north side of North Dakota. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Canada. The Deep River flows south-southeastward through the center part of the county. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds. The terrain slopes to the south, with its highest point on its upper east boundary line, at ASL.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. It is the 11th largest county in North Dakota by total area. Part of the Turtle Mountain plateau lies in the northeastern corner of the county.

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

Major highways

Protected areas

Lakes

Demographics

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Bottineau County was $202,269. As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 2,695 estimated households in Bottineau County with an average of 2.27 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $83,460. Approximately 10.8% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Bottineau County has an estimated 58.5% employment rate, with 27.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 94.0% holding a high school diploma.
The top five reported ancestries were English, Spanish, Indo-European, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Other. The median age in the county was 43.8 years.
Bottineau County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
Race / ethnicity Pop. 1980Pop. 1990Pop. 2000Pop. 2010
White alone 9,122
7,916
6,935
6,062
5,688
Black or African American alone 1
6
15
25
31
Native American or Alaska Native alone 76
58
96
130
197
Asian alone 17
15
13
16
42
Pacific Islander alone ——1
1
1
Race and ethnicity in [the United States census|Other race] alone 6
0
1
2
13
Mixed race or multiracial ——53
111
266
Hispanic or Latino 17
16
35
82
141
Total9,239
8,011
7,149
6,429
6,379

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 6,391 people and 2,695 households residing in the county. There were 3,979 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 91.8% White , 0.7% African American, 4.0% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.7% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 6,379 people, 2,779 households, and 1,730 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 3,931 housing units at an average density of, of which 29.3% were vacant, 79.1% of occupied units were owner-occupied, and 20.9% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 4.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 14.4%.
Of the residents, 21.9% were under the age of 18 and 24.7% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 45.3 years. For every 100 females there were 105.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 104.7 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 90.2% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 3.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, 0.6% from some other race, and 4.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.2% of the population.
There were 2,779 households in the county, of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 20.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 6,429 people, 2,832 households, and 1,823 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 4,341 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 95.07% White, 0.39% American (U.S. Census)|African American], 2.12% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from some other races and 1.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.28% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 47.0% were Norwegian, 37.4% were German, 7.7% were Irish, 6.2% were Swedish, and 1.4% were American.
There were 2,832 households, 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.6% were non-families, and 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age was 48.0 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $40,227 and the median income for a family was $60,714. Males had a median income of $42,227 versus $27,500 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,277. About 9.5% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade


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Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Politics

Bottineau County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.