# Burleigh County, North Dakota

Burleigh County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 98,458, making it the second most populous county in North Dakota. Its county seat is Bismarck, the state capital. The county was named for Dakota Territory political figure Walter A. Burleigh.

## History

The territorial legislature created Burleigh County on January 4, 1873, annexing territory from Buffalo County. Burleigh was not organized at that time, but the organization was effected on July 16, 1873. Its boundaries were altered in 1879, 1881, 1883, and twice in 1885.
Burleigh County is included in the Bismarck, ND Metropolitan Statistical Area, commonly called "Bismarck–Mandan".

## Geography

The Missouri River flows south-southeasterly along the lower west boundary line of Burleigh County. The central part of the county is drained by south-flowing creeks. The county terrain consists of semi-arid low rolling hills, partially devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the south, and its western portion also slopes to the river valley. The terrain's highest point is on the upper portion of the east boundary line, at 2,060 ft (630 m) ASL. The county has a total area of 1,668 square miles (4,320 km$^2$), of which 1,633 square miles (4,230 km$^2$) is land and 36 square miles (93 km$^2$) (2.1%) is water.

### Major highways

* I-94
* US 83
* ND 14
* ND 36
* ND 41
* ND 1804

### Transit

* Bis-Man Transit
* Jefferson Lines

### Adjacent counties

* Sheridan County – north
* Kidder County – east
* Emmons County – south
* Morton County - southwest
* Oliver County – west
* McLean County – northwest

### Protected areas

* Arena State Game Management Area
* Bunker Lake State Game Management Area
* Canfield Lake National Wildlife Refuge
* Florence Lake National Wildlife Refuge
* Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge (part)
* Sibley Nature Park
* Wilton Mine State Game Management Area (part)

### Lakes

* Bunce Lake
* Bunker Lake
* Clear Lake
* Florence Lake
* Grass Lake
* Harriet Lake
* Horseshoe Lake
* Lonetree Lake
* Long Lake
* Mitchell Lake
* New Johns Lake (part)
* O'Brien Lake
* Pelican Lake
* Rice Lake

## Demographics
### 2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 98,458 people, 39,927 households, and 24,822 families in the county. The population density was 60.3 inhabitants per square mile (23.3/km$^2$) There were 42,692 housing units.

### 2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 81,308 people, 33,976 households, and 21,213 families in the county. The population density was 49.8 inhabitants per square mile (19.2/km$^2$). There were 35,754 housing units at an average density of 21.9 per square mile (8.5/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 93.0% white, 4.2% American Indian, 0.6% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 61.0% were German, 21.1% were Norwegian, 8.1% were Russian, 6.8% were Irish, and 2.6% were American.
Of the 33,976 households, 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.6% were non-families, and 30.5% 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 37.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $53,465 and the median income for a family was $71,103. Males had a median income of $44,944 versus $31,943 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,784. About 6.3% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

### Population by decade
## Communities
### Cities

* Bismarck (county seat)
* Lincoln
* Regan
* Wilton (partly in McLean County)
* Wing

### Census-designated places

* Apple Valley
* Driscoll
* Menoken

### Unincorporated communities

* Arena
* Baldwin
* Brittin
* McKenzie
* Moffit
* Sterling

### Townships

* Apple Creek
* Boyd
* Burnt Creek
* Canfield
* Christiania
* Clear Lake
* Crofte
* Cromwell
* Driscoll
* Ecklund
* Estherville
* Florence Lake
* Francis
* Ghylin
* Gibbs
* Glenview
* Grass Lake
* Harriet-Lien
* Hay Creek
* Hazel Grove
* Logan
* Long Lake
* McKenzie
* Menoken
* Missouri
* Morton
* Naughton
* Painted Woods
* Richmond
* Rock Hill
* Schrunk
* Sibley Butte
* Steiber
* Sterling
* Taft
* Telfer
* Thelma
* Trygg
* Wild Rose
* Wilson
* Wing

## Politics

Burleigh County voters have voted Republican for several decades. With the exception of 1964, no Democratic Party candidate has received even 40 percent of the county's vote after 1940.
United States presidential election results for Burleigh County, North Dakota :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 36,595 | 70.02% | 14,215 | 27.20% | 1,453 | 2.78% |
| 2020 | 34,744 | 68.46% | 14,348 | 28.27% | 1,661 | 3.27% |
| 2016 | 32,532 | 67.80% | 10,881 | 22.68% | 4,566 | 9.52% |
| 2012 | 27,951 | 64.42% | 14,122 | 32.55% | 1,314 | 3.03% |
| 2008 | 25,443 | 60.58% | 15,600 | 37.14% | 956 | 2.28% |
| 2004 | 26,577 | 68.47% | 11,621 | 29.94% | 616 | 1.59% |
| 2000 | 22,467 | 65.16% | 9,842 | 28.54% | 2,173 | 6.30% |
| 1996 | 15,464 | 51.74% | 10,679 | 35.73% | 3,747 | 12.54% |
| 1992 | 16,484 | 50.90% | 8,940 | 27.61% | 6,960 | 21.49% |
| 1988 | 18,000 | 61.89% | 10,760 | 37.00% | 324 | 1.11% |
| 1984 | 19,913 | 68.25% | 8,781 | 30.10% | 482 | 1.65% |
| 1980 | 18,437 | 67.94% | 6,129 | 22.59% | 2,571 | 9.47% |
| 1976 | 13,680 | 58.09% | 9,188 | 39.02% | 681 | 2.89% |
| 1972 | 13,909 | 67.38% | 5,841 | 28.29% | 894 | 4.33% |
| 1968 | 10,661 | 64.03% | 5,139 | 30.87% | 849 | 5.10% |
| 1964 | 7,239 | 46.95% | 8,120 | 52.66% | 60 | 0.39% |
| 1960 | 9,492 | 62.13% | 5,761 | 37.71% | 25 | 0.16% |
| 1956 | 9,199 | 73.79% | 3,231 | 25.92% | 37 | 0.30% |
| 1952 | 9,526 | 79.55% | 2,400 | 20.04% | 49 | 0.41% |
| 1948 | 5,049 | 59.45% | 3,117 | 36.70% | 327 | 3.85% |
| 1944 | 4,616 | 59.95% | 3,061 | 39.75% | 23 | 0.30% |
| 1940 | 5,858 | 57.06% | 4,350 | 42.37% | 58 | 0.56% |
| 1936 | 2,447 | 25.17% | 6,314 | 64.94% | 962 | 9.89% |
| 1932 | 2,687 | 31.84% | 5,621 | 66.61% | 131 | 1.55% |
| 1928 | 3,955 | 55.59% | 3,076 | 43.23% | 84 | 1.18% |
| 1924 | 3,152 | 53.17% | 379 | 6.39% | 2,397 | 40.44% |
| 1920 | 4,300 | 77.28% | 943 | 16.95% | 321 | 5.77% |
| 1916 | 1,182 | 45.46% | 1,267 | 48.73% | 151 | 5.81% |
| 1912 | 720 | 36.20% | 609 | 30.62% | 660 | 33.18% |
| 1908 | 1,375 | 65.82% | 660 | 31.59% | 54 | 2.58% |
| 1904 | 1,340 | 83.23% | 237 | 14.72% | 33 | 2.05% |
| 1900 | 679 | 66.44% | 339 | 33.17% | 4 | 0.39% |

## Education

School districts include:
K-12:
* Bismarck Public School District 1
* Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock Public School District 6
* Kidder County School District 1
* McClusky Public School District 19
* Wilton Public School District 1
* Wing Public School District 28
Elementary:
* Apple Creek Public School District 39
* Manning Public School District 45
* Menoken Public School District 33
* Naughton Public School District 25
* Sterling Public School District 35
Former districts:
* Montefiore Public School District 1