Towner County, North Dakota


Towner County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population is 2,162, and was estimated to be 2,051 in 2024. The county seat and largest city is Cando. It is south of the Canada–US border with Manitoba.
WWW townercountynd.com

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on March 8, 1883, with areas partitioned from Cavalier and Rolette counties. It was named for Oscar M. Towner, a businessman and member of the 15th territorial legislature. The county organization was not completed at that time, and the county was attached to Pembina County for judicial and administrative purposes. That lasted until January 24, 1884, when the county organization was effected, and its attachment to Pembina was dissolved. However, on January 26, 1889, the county was attached to Ramsey County for judicial and administrative purposes. This arrangement only lasted a few months. The boundaries of Towner County, as first formed, have not been altered to the present.
The county should not be confused with the city of Towner, which is located in McHenry County.

Geography

Towner County lies on the north line of North Dakota, and thus on the north line of the continental United States. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Canada. Its terrain consists of rolling hills dotted with lakes and ponds. The area is devoted to agriculture. The Laurentian Divide runs across Towner County - the northern terrain slopes to the north while the southern terrain slopes to the south, and the county as a whole slightly slopes to the east.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. It is the 36th largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Averages use 1901-2000
Records are from 1895–Present
Avg TempMin TempMax TempPrecip
Avg Jan0.92-9.3911.260.59
Hist Hi Jan21.80  200614.20   200629.50  20062.10  1917
Hist Lo Jan-16.70 1950-25.40 1950-8.00  19500.02 1973
Avg Feb6.84-3.668.600.43
Hist Hi Feb24.00 195417.40 199833.60 19542.11 1998
Hist Lo Feb-17.60 1936-27.00 1936-8.30 19360.03 1971
Avg Mar20.5410.2230.850.75
Hist Hi Mar38.00 191025.70 201250.90 19103.02 1902
Hist Lo Mar2.70 1899-9.90 189915.20 18990.02 2019
Avg Apr38.5526.8850.221.17
Hist Hi Apr48.20 198734.20 200664.30 19524.19 1896
Hist Lo Apr25.70 201315.80 201335.60 20130.03 1952
Avg May51.9738.5465.392.19
Hist Hi May63.40 197748.50 197778.40 19776.37 1999
Hist Lo May41.40 190727.90 190754.80 19070.18 1907
Avg Jun61.1448.5373.754.05
Hist Hi Jun71.70 198856.20 198887.20 198811.08 1954
Hist Lo Jun53.50 191541.70 196965.20 19150.97 1900
Avg Jul66.5153.3079.732.81
Hist Hi Jul76.50 193659.80 193693.20 19368.48 1993
Hist Lo Jul59.50 199247.90 191570.60 19920.41 1985
Avg Aug64.3050.4578.142.48
Hist Hi Aug71.50 198356.50 198388.30 19617.57 1980
Hist Lo Aug57.70 200445.30 197769.00 20040.24 1961
Avg Sep53.8540.5867.121.74
Hist Hi Sep63.30 200949.80 200978.90 18976.16 1941
Hist Lo Sep44.60 196533.80 196555.50 19650.06 1938
Avg Oct41.4229.2853.551.10
Hist Hi Oct52.50 196337.90 196367.00 19635.16 1994
Hist Lo Oct29.40 191917.90 191939.00 19250.06 1944
Avg Nov22.7513.4832.030.67
Hist Hi Nov37.80 201628.30 201647.30 20162.93 2000
Hist Lo Nov2.50 1896-5.60 189610.50 18960.02 1939
Avg Dec7.91-1.6417.460.59
Hist Hi Dec22.80 193914.70 199732.90 19391.85 1906
Hist Lo Dec-5.40 1917-15.30 19174.10 19830.01 1954
Avg 12 Mo36.3924.7148.071.49
Hi 12 Mo76.50 Jul 193659.80 Jul 193693.20 Jul 193611.08 Jun 1954
Lo 12 Mo-17.60 Feb 1936-27.00 Feb 1936-8.30 Feb 19360.01 Dec 1954

Major highways

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

National protected areas

Lakes

Source:
  • Armourdale Lake
  • Brumba Pool
  • Lake Alice
  • McLaughlin Lake
  • Moore Lake
  • Pound Lake
  • Rock Lake
  • Snyder Lake

Demographics

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Towner County was $130,113.
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 958 estimated households in Towner County with an average of 2.17 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $63,017. Approximately 9.4% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Towner County has an estimated 63.0% employment rate, with 18.9% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 89.5% 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 50.3 years.
Towner County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
Race / ethnicity Pop. 1980Pop. 1990Pop. 2000Pop. 2010
White alone 4,003
3,562
2,797
2,165
1,984
Black or African American alone 3
2
2
2
2
Native American or Alaska Native alone 41
53
57
49
71
Asian alone 3
5
2
1
10
Pacific Islander alone ——0
0
1
Other race alone 0
0
0
4
4
Mixed race or multiracial ——13
15
56
Hispanic or Latino 2
5
5
10
34
Total4,052
3,627
2,876
2,246
2,162

2024 Estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 2,051 people and 958 households residing in the county. There were 1,283 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 91.0% White , 0.5% African American, 5.5% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.8% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,162 people, 965 households, and 587 families residing in the county. Of the residents, 22.8% were under the age of 18 and 24.7% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 51.1 years. For every 100 females there were 105.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 104.4 males.
The population density was. There were 1,290 housing units at an average density of. Of the housing units, 25.2% were vacant, 77.8% of the occupied units were owner-occupied, and 22.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 24.8%.
The racial makeup of the county was 91.9% White, 0.1% Black or African American, 3.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, 0.6% from some other race, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.6% of the population.
Of the 965 households, 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 19.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 2,246 people, 1,048 households, and 639 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 1,449 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 96.75% White, 0.09% [African Americans|American (U.S. census)|African American], 2.18% Native American, 0.04% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from some other races and 0.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.45% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 46.5% were German, 41.5% were Norwegian, 10.4% were Irish, 7.4% were English, 5.5% were Swedish, and 3.2% were American.
There were 1,048 households, 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.0% were non-families, and 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.71. The median age was 50.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $43,684 and the median income for a family was $54,609. Males had a median income of $36,350 versus $26,164 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,203. About 8.5% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade


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Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

  • Agate
  • Armourdale
  • Arndt
  • Considine
  • Crocus
  • Elsberry
  • Maza
  • Newville
  • Olmstead
  • Pasha

Townships

  • Armourdale
  • Atkins
  • Bethel
  • Cando
  • Coolin
  • Crocus
  • Dash
  • Gerrard
  • Grainfield
  • Howell
  • Lansing
  • Maza
  • Monroe
  • Mount View
  • New City
  • Olson
  • Paulson
  • Picton
  • Rock Lake
  • Sidney
  • Smith
  • Sorenson
  • Springfield
  • Teddy
  • Twin Hill
  • Victor
  • Virginia
  • Zion

Education

School districts include:
Former school districts: