Stutsman County, North Dakota


Stutsman County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,593, and was estimated to be 21,546 in 2024, making it the 8th-most populous county in North Dakota. The county seat and the largest city is Jamestown.
Stutsman County comprises the Jamestown, North Dakota micropolitan statistical area.

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, with area partitioned from Buffalo and Pembina counties. It was not organized at that time, nor was it attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. It was named for Enos Stutsman, an area lawyer and politician. On June 10 of the same year, the county organization was effected, with Jamestown as the county seat. Its boundaries have not changed since its creation.

Geography

The James River flows south-southeasterly through the east central part of the county. The terrain consists of low rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds in its western portion. The area is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east and south; 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 2nd largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Major highways

*

Transit

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Lakes

Demographics

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Stutsman County was $212,229.
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 9,295 estimated households in Stutsman County with an average of 2.12 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $60,172. Approximately 11.0% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Stutsman County has an estimated 62.5% employment rate, with 24.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 92.8% holding a high school diploma.
The top five reported ancestries were English, Spanish, Indo-European, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Other.
Stutsman County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
Race / ethnicity Pop. 1980Pop. 1990Pop. 2000Pop. 2010
White alone 23,799
21,873
21,241
19,996
19,504
Black or African American alone 30
46
55
126
444
Native American or Alaska Native alone 134
140
197
297
296
Asian alone 63
96
79
99
137
Pacific Islander alone ——8
12
4
Race and ethnicity in [the United States census|Other race] alone 52
2
10
4
24
Mixed race or multiracial ——114
205
591
Hispanic or Latino 76
84
204
361
593
Total24,154
22,241
21,908
21,100
21,593

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 21,546 people and 9,295 households residing in the county. There were 10,434 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 92.8% White , 2.3% African American, 2.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.3% of the population.
In the 2023 estimate, Stutsman County is the 39th wealthiest county in North Dakota. $68,370 for per capita income.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 21,593, 9,084 households, and 5,178 families. The population density was. There were 10,374 housing units at an average density of.
Of the residents, 20.1% were under the age of 18 and 20.0% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 41.1 years. For every 100 females there were 104.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 106.7 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 91.34% White, 2.11% American (U.S. census)|African American], 1.39% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from some other races and 3.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.75% of the population.
There were 9,084 households in the county, of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 10,374 housing units, of which 12.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 65.7% were owner-occupied and 34.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.4%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 21,100 people, 8,931 households, and 5,255 families in the county. The population density was. There were 9,862 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 95.56% White, 0.66% African American, 1.42% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from some other races and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.71% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 56.5% were German, 27.6% were Norwegian, 7.2% were Irish, 6.0% were Russian, 5.2% were English, and 2.4% were American.
There were 8,931 households, 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.2% were non-families, and 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.79. The median age was 42.0 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,620 and the median income for a family was $60,171. Males had a median income of $40,365 versus $27,549 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,307. About 6.3% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 14.6% 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
id:darkblue value:rgb
ImageSize = width:800 height:400
PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:26104
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical
AlignBars = late
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:6526 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:3263 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo
BarData=
bar:1880 text:1880
bar:1890 text:1890
bar:1900 text:1900
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:1880 from: 0 till:1007
bar:1890 from: 0 till:5266
bar:1900 from: 0 till:9143
bar:1910 from: 0 till:18189
bar:1920 from: 0 till:24575
bar:1930 from: 0 till:26100
bar:1940 from: 0 till:23495
bar:1950 from: 0 till:24158
bar:1960 from: 0 till:25137
bar:1970 from: 0 till:23550
bar:1980 from: 0 till:24154
bar:1990 from: 0 till:22241
bar:2000 from: 0 till:21908
bar:2010 from: 0 till:21100
bar:2020 from: 0 till:21593
bar:2024 from: 0 till:21546 color:darkblue
PlotData=
bar:1880 at:1007 fontsize:M text:1,007 shift:
bar:1890 at:5266 fontsize:M text:5,266 shift:
bar:1900 at:9143 fontsize:M text:9,143 shift:
bar:1910 at:18189 fontsize:M text:18,189 shift:
bar:1920 at:24575 fontsize:M text:24,575 shift:
bar:1930 at:26100 fontsize:M text:26,100 shift:
bar:1940 at:23495 fontsize:M text:23,495 shift:
bar:1950 at:24158 fontsize:M text:24,158 shift:
bar:1960 at:25137 fontsize:M text:25,137 shift:
bar:1970 at:23550 fontsize:M text:23,550 shift:
bar:1980 at:24154 fontsize:M text:24,154 shift:
bar:1990 at:22241 fontsize:M text:22,241 shift:
bar:2000 at:21908 fontsize:M text:21,908 shift:
bar:2010 at:21100 fontsize:M text:21,100 shift:
bar:2020 at:21593 fontsize:M text:21,593 shift:
bar:2024 at:21546 fontsize:M text:21,546 shift:
TextData=
fontsize:S pos:
text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

  • Bloom
  • Clementsville
  • Durupt
  • Fried
  • Kloze
  • Millarton
  • Sharlow
  • Sydney
  • Vashti

Townships

Politics

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

Education

School districts include: