Dunn County, North Dakota


Dunn County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,095, and was estimated to be 4,031 in 2024. The county seat is Manning and the largest city in Killdeer.
WWW dunncountynd.org

History

On March 9, 1883, the Dakota Territory legislature authorized the creation of a new county, using territory partitioned from Howard County. The county organization was not affected at that time, but the county was not attached to another county for judicial purposes.
The county boundaries were altered in 1883, and on November 3, 1896, the legislature ordered Dunn dissolved, with its territory assigned to Stark County. However, the state supreme court overturned the legislature's act on May 24, 1901; in effect re-creating Dunn County. The county was still not assigned to another county. This was resolved on March 10, 1903, when the county was assigned to Stark County for judicial purposes.
On March 13, 1903, the legislature again voted to dissolve Dunn County, but again the state supreme court voided the act. Dunn County continued to be attached to Stark County. However, on January 18, 1908, the county organization was affected, and Dunn became a standalone county. In the process, Dunn gained a tract of previously unattached land from Stark County, enlarging its boundary. The configuration thus created has remained to the present. The county was named for John Piatt Dunn, who opened the first drugstore in North Dakota, and who was a civic and commercial leader during the early history of Bismarck.

Geography

The Missouri River flows southeasterly along the northeastern boundary of Dunn County, and the Little Missouri River flows eastward across the center part of the county, to its confluence with the Missouri in the northeastern part of the county. The county terrain consists of semi-arid rolling hills, which are etched in the north and east by gullies and drainages to the river valleys. The terrain slopes to the east and north; its highest point is a hill at the southwestern corner, 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 6th largest county in North Dakota by total area.
Dunn County is somewhat unusual among western North Dakota counties. Like other counties in the region, it has both prairie and badlands areas. Located in the northwest part of the county are the Killdeer Mountains, which are more accurately described as hills. These hills help create a mini-ecosystem on the southern edge of the Little Missouri badlands, which has a greater abundance of aspen forests and wildlife than is typically found in southwestern North Dakota. The Killdeer Mountains' highest point, and the highest point in Dunn County, is 3281 feet above sea level.
The northwest corner of the county, northwest of the Killdeer Mountains, features many square miles of bur oak forest, mainly on the north-facing slopes of the hills. Bur oak and quaking aspen, though native to North Dakota, are sparse in western North Dakota, with Dunn County being a notable exception.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Lakes

  • Moffet Slough
  • Lake Sakakawea

Demographics

Other estimates

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Dunn County was $258,531.
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 1,513 estimated households in Dunn County with an average of 2.60 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $94,688. Approximately 11.2% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Dunn County has an estimated 63.0% employment rate, with 20.6% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 92.7% 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 40.8 years.
Dunn County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
Race / ethnicity Pop. 1980Pop. 1990Pop. 2000Pop. 2010
White alone 4,144
3,596
3,101
2,984
3,241
Black or African American alone 1
0
1
8
23
Native American or Alaska Native alone 447
377
441
443
455
Asian alone 1
6
3
10
32
Pacific Islander alone ——0
0
0
Other race alone 0
0
0
0
10
Mixed race or multiracial ——27
53
227
Hispanic or Latino 34
26
27
38
107
Total4,627
4,005
3,600
3,536
4,095

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 4,031 people and 1,513 households residing in the county. There were 2,158 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 83.5% White , 1.9% African American, 9.2% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 3.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.3% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 4,095 people, 1,558 households, and 1,055 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 2,105 housing units at an average density of in the county.
Of the residents, 25.4% were under the age of 18 and 17.0% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 38.8 years. For every 100 females there were 109.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 112.7 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 80.0% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 11.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian, 1.0% from some other race, and 6.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.6% of the population.
There were 1,558 households in the county, of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 14.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 2,105 housing units, of which 26.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.0% were owner-occupied and 27.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 18.9%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,536 people, 1,401 households, and 977 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 2,132 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 84.93% White, 0.23% [African Americans|American (U.S. census)|African American], 12.70% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from some other races and 1.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.07% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 57.6% were German, 20.3% were Norwegian, 8.5% were Czech, 6.0% were Russian, 5.7% were Irish, 5.3% were English, and 1.8% were American.
There were 1,401 households, 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.3% were non-families, and 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 44.4 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $48,707 and the median income for a family was $65,122. Males had a median income of $37,270 versus $23,599 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,832. About 6.2% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade


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Sites of interest

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Politics

Dunn County has voted Republican in every election since 1976.

Education

School districts include:
K-12:
Elementary: