Stark County, North Dakota
Stark County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,646, and was estimated to be 33,767 in 2024, making it the 7th-most populous county in North Dakota. The county seat and the largest city is Dickinson.
Stark County is part of the Dickinson, North Dakota micropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the Dickinson Micro Area had a population of 38,686 in Billings, Dunn, and Stark Counties.
History
The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on February 10, 1879, taking area from now-extinct Howard and Williams counties and some previously unincorporated territory. It was named for George Stark, a vice president of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The county organization was not completed at that time, but the new county was not attached to another county for administrative and judicial purposes. The county lost a portion of its area when Hettinger County was created on March 9, 1883. On May 25, 1883, the Stark County organization was affected.The county boundaries were altered in February and in March 1887. The county was slightly enlarged on January 18, 1908, by a small strip of land, giving Stark County its present boundary lines.
Geography
The south branch of the Heart River flows through the central part of Stark County, discharging into Patterson Lake at Dickinson, then flowing east-southeasterly into adjacent Morton County. The county terrain consists of semi-arid rolling hills, mostly devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east, with its highest point near its SW 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 21st largest county in North Dakota by total area.
The southwestern counties of North Dakota observe Mountain Time. The counties of McKenzie, Dunn, and Sioux counties are split.
Major highways
*Transit
- Dickinson Public Transit
- Jefferson Lines
- West River Transit
Adjacent counties
- Dunn County – north/Central Time in the north part of the county
- Mercer County – northeast/Central Time
- Morton County – east/Central Time
- Grant County – southeast/Central Time
- Hettinger County – south
- Slope County – southwest
- Billings County – west
Lakes
Source:- Abbey Lake
- Patterson Lake
Demographics
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Stark County was $275,908.As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 13,217 estimated households in Stark County with an average of 2.44 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $80,744. Approximately 9.6% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Stark County has an estimated 68.2% employment rate, with 27.2% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 91.2% 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 34.5 years.
Stark County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
| Race / ethnicity | Pop. 1980 | Pop. 1990 | Pop. 2000 | Pop. 2010 | |
| White alone | 23,390 | 22,471 | 21,922 | 22,765 | 28,307 |
| Black or African American alone | 13 | 17 | 47 | 186 | 1,033 |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone | 135 | 138 | 203 | 230 | 392 |
| Asian alone | 46 | 77 | 50 | 288 | 344 |
| Pacific Islander alone | — | — | 5 | 7 | 51 |
| Other race alone | 31 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 88 |
| Mixed race or multiracial | — | — | 164 | 254 | 1,157 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 82 | 126 | 236 | 454 | 2,274 |
| Total | 23,697 | 22,832 | 22,636 | 24,199 | 33,646 |
2024 estimate
As of the 2024 estimate, there were 33,767 people and 13,217 households residing in the county. There were 15,645 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 91.2% White , 2.6% African American, 2.2% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 7.5% of the population.2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 33,646 people, 13,561 households, and 8,394 families in the county. The population density was. There were 15,381 housing units at an average density of.Of the residents, 25.8% were under the age of 18 and 13.1% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 34.1 years. For every 100 females there were 107.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 107.5 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 86.0% White, 3.1% Black or African American, 1.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% Asian, 2.8% from some other race, and 5.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.8% of the population.
There were 13,561 households in the county, of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 20.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 15,381 housing units, of which 11.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 61.7% were owner-occupied and 38.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 15.5%.
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 24,199 people, 10,085 households, and 6,167 families in the county. The population density was. There were 10,735 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 95.15% White, 0.81% American (U.S. census)|African American], 0.99% Native American, 1.21% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from some other races and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.88% of the population.In terms of ancestry, 59.0% were German, 14.7% were Norwegian, 7.7% were Russian, 7.7% were Irish, 7.3% were Czech, 5.4% were English, and 3.5% were American.
There were 10,085 households, 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.8% were non-families, and 30.9% 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 38.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $49,536 and the median income for a family was $62,560. Males had a median income of $42,338 versus $26,451 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,282. About 5.9% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.
Population by decade
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