Mountrail County, North Dakota


Mountrail County is a county in the northwestern part of North Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,809, and was estimated to be 9,474 in 2024. The county seat is Stanley and the largest city is New Town.
The county was originally created in 1873, then removed in 1892, and annexed by Ward County. It was re-created and organized in 1909.
The county is home to the headquarters of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara people, and a large part of the county belongs to the tribe's Fort Berthold reservation.

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, with an area annexed from Buffalo County. The origin of its name came from Joseph Mountraille, a locally famed Metis voyageur and mail carrier from Pembina under Norman Kittson's employment. The county was not organized at that time, nor was it attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. The new county lost territory in 1885 when a portion was annexed off to create Garfield County. This situation continued until February 21, 1891, when Mountrail County was attached to Ward County for "judicial and other purposes." The following year, the North Dakota legislature voted to dissolve the county and have its territory absorbed by Ward County.
An election held in Ward County on November 3, 1908, authorized the re-creation of Mountrail County, although with different boundaries than the previous county proposal. The countywide vote totals were 4207 to 4024, but the result was contested in court. On January 16, 1909, the state Supreme Court upheld the vote,
so the county government was organized on January 29 of that year.
Oil production from the Bakken formation in the early 21st century attracted workers and reversed decades of population decline in the county. From 2010 to 2015, especially, population markedly increased, creating its own strains.

Geography

The Missouri River flows southeastward along the SW boundary line of Mountrail County, and Shell Creek drains the lower central part of the county into the Missouri, discharging at Shell Creek Bay. The terrain consists of rolling hills, largely devoted to agriculture. Its NE portion is dotted with ponds and lakes. The Laurentian Divide runs east–west through the central part of the county, with the northern areas sloping to the north and the southern areas sloping to the south. Its highest point is on the upper west 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 9th largest county in North Dakota by total area.
Mountrail County is one of several western North Dakota counties with significant exposure to the Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin.

Major highways

Source:
Source:
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Mountrail County was $235,433.
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 3,839 estimated households in Mountrail County with an average of 2.46 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $81,292. Approximately 11.6% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Mountrail County has an estimated 63.3% employment rate, with 22.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 88.6% 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 35.1 years.
Mountrail County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
Race / ethnicity Pop. 1980Pop. 1990Pop. 2000Pop. 2010
White alone 6,724
5,591
4,358
4,931
5,539
Black or African American alone 1
4
6
16
113
Native American or Alaska Native alone 917
1,387
1,935
2,240
2,737
Asian alone 15
14
14
15
105
Pacific Islander alone ——3
1
3
Other race alone 3
0
1
6
34
Mixed race or multiracial ——227
178
510
Hispanic or Latino 19
25
87
286
768
Total7,679
7,021
6,631
7,673
9,809

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 9,474 people and 3,839 households residing in the county. There were 5,176 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 62.9% White , 2.0% African American, 30.4% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 8.9% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 9,809 people, 3,715 households, and 2,407 families residing in the county. The population density was.
Of the residents, 27.9% were under the age of 18 and 13.5% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 35.0 years. For every 100 females there were 109.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 112.3 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 58.2% White, 1.2% Black or African American, 29.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% Asian, 2.5% from some other race, and 8.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.8% of the population.
There were 3,715 households in the county, of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 21.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 5,018 housing units, of which 26.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 60.6% were owner-occupied and 39.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 21.5%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 7,673 people, 2,793 households, and 1,852 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 4,117 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 65.55% White, 0.21% African American, 30.60% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.81% from some other races and 2.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.73% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 36.6% were Norwegian, 24.4% were German, 6.6% were Irish, and 0.8% were American.
There were 2,793 households, 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.7% were non-families, and 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 37.0 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $53,912 and the median income for a family was $63,238. Males had a median income of $43,386 versus $29,432 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,762. About 13.5% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 14.2% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade


Colors=
id:lightgrey value:gray
id:darkgrey value:gray
id:sfondo value:rgb
id:barra value:rgb
ImageSize = width:700 height:350
PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:13544
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical
AlignBars = late
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:3386 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1693 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo
BarData=
bar:1910 text:1910
bar:1920 text:1920
bar:1930 text:1930
bar:1940 text:1940
bar:1950 text:1950
bar:1960 text:1960
bar:1970 text:1970
bar:1980 text:1980
bar:1990 text:1990
bar:2000 text:2000
bar:2010 text:2010
bar:2020 text:2020
bar:2024 text:present
PlotData=
color:barra width:25 align:left
bar:1910 from: 0 till:8491
bar:1920 from: 0 till:12140
bar:1930 from: 0 till:13544
bar:1940 from: 0 till:10482
bar:1950 from: 0 till:9418
bar:1960 from: 0 till:10077
bar:1970 from: 0 till:8437
bar:1980 from: 0 till:7679
bar:1990 from: 0 till:7021
bar:2000 from: 0 till:6631
bar:2010 from: 0 till:7673
bar:2020 from: 0 till:9809
bar:2024 from: 0 till:9474 color:darkblue
PlotData=
bar:1910 at:8491 fontsize:M text:8,491 shift:
bar:1920 at:12140 fontsize:M text:12,140 shift:
bar:1930 at:13544 fontsize:M text:13,544 shift:
bar:1940 at:10482 fontsize:M text:10,482 shift:
bar:1950 at:9418 fontsize:M text:9,418 shift:
bar:1960 at:10077 fontsize:M text:10,077 shift:
bar:1970 at:8437 fontsize:M text:8,437 shift:
bar:1980 at:7679 fontsize:M text:7,679 shift:
bar:1990 at:7021 fontsize:M text:7,021 shift:
bar:2000 at:6631 fontsize:M text:6,631 shift:
bar:2010 at:7673 fontsize:M text:7,673 shift:
bar:2020 at:9809 fontsize:M text:9,809 shift:
bar:2024 at:9474 fontsize:M text:9,474 shift:
TextData=
fontsize:S pos:
text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau