# Bismarck, North Dakota

| Bismarck, North Dakota |
| --- |
| State capital city |
| North Dakota State CapitolNorth Dakota State LibraryBurleigh County CourthouseWebb Brothers Block on East Main AvenueCathedral of the Holy SpiritDowntown Historic DistrictOld Governor's Mansion |
| Flag |
| Location within Burleigh County in North Dakota |
| BismarckShow map of North DakotaBismarckShow map of the United States |
| Coordinates: ﻿ / ﻿ |
| Country | United States |
| State | North Dakota |
| County | Burleigh |
| Founded | May 14, 1872 |
| Named for | Otto von Bismarck |
| Area |
|  • State capital city | 35.18 sq mi (91.12 km2) |
|  • Land | 34.69 sq mi (89.83 km2) |
|  • Water | 0.50 sq mi (1.29 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,745 ft (532 m) |
| Population (2020) |
|  • State capital city | 73,622 |
|  • Rank | US: 500th ND: 2nd |
|  • Density | 2,122.59/sq mi (819.54/km2) |
|  • Urban | 98,198 (US: 316th) |
|  • Metro | 134,846 (US: 306th) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central) |
|  • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes | 58501–58507 |
| Area code | 701 |
| FIPS code | 38-07200 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1035934 |
| Public transportation | Bis-Man Transit |
| Website | bismarcknd.gov |

**Bismarck** is the capital city of the U.S. state of North Dakota. It is also the county seat of Burleigh County. In 2020, 73,622 people lived there. 133,626 people lived in the metropolitan area.

Bismarck was founded in 1872. It is named in honor of the German chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. It has been North Dakota's capital since it became a state in 1889.

Bismarck is on the east side of the Missouri River, directly across the river from Mandan. The two cities make up most of the Bismarck-Mandan Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The North Dakota State Capitol, the tallest building in the state, is in the center of Bismarck. The state government employs more than 4,000 in the city. Bismarck is the economic center of south-central North Dakota and north-central South Dakota with health care and retail businesses.

## Climate

Bismarck is in the middle of the Great Plains. Its weather changes a lot. It has a four-season humid continental climate (Köppen *Dfa*/*Dfb*). It is close to being a cold semi arid climate. In the winter, Bismarck is cold, dry, snowy, and windy. In the summer, it is warm and humid. There are many thunderstorms in Bismarck in the summer and spring. Much of the year is dry.

The warmest month in Bismarck is July. The mean temperature in July is 71.3 °F (21.8 °C). with typically wide variations between day and night. The coldest month in Bismarck is January. It has a mean temperature of 12.8 °F (−10.7 °C). Precipitation is most common from May to September. There is not as much rain in the winter. In winter, there is usually light to moderate snow. Big storms in the winter are rare.

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Climate data for Bismarck Municipal Airport, North Dakota |
| --- |
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 63 (17) | 73 (23) | 81 (27) | 93 (34) | 102 (39) | 111 (44) | 114 (46) | 109 (43) | 105 (41) | 95 (35) | 79 (26) | 66 (19) | 114 (46) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 46.7 (8.2) | 49.9 (9.9) | 66.7 (19.3) | 80.2 (26.8) | 87.1 (30.6) | 93.2 (34.0) | 98.3 (36.8) | 98.2 (36.8) | 93.0 (33.9) | 82.1 (27.8) | 63.9 (17.7) | 49.4 (9.7) | 101.4 (38.6) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 23.2 (−4.9) | 27.8 (−2.3) | 41.0 (5.0) | 56.0 (13.3) | 68.3 (20.2) | 77.9 (25.5) | 84.7 (29.3) | 83.5 (28.6) | 73.4 (23.0) | 57.1 (13.9) | 40.6 (4.8) | 27.7 (−2.4) | 55.1 (12.8) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 12.8 (−10.7) | 17.5 (−8.1) | 30.1 (−1.1) | 43.2 (6.2) | 55.3 (12.9) | 65.4 (18.6) | 71.3 (21.8) | 69.6 (20.9) | 59.7 (15.4) | 44.8 (7.1) | 29.9 (−1.2) | 17.9 (−7.8) | 43.1 (6.2) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 2.4 (−16.4) | 7.2 (−13.8) | 19.1 (−7.2) | 30.4 (−0.9) | 42.4 (5.8) | 52.9 (11.6) | 57.9 (14.4) | 55.7 (13.2) | 45.9 (7.7) | 32.6 (0.3) | 19.1 (−7.2) | 8.1 (−13.3) | 31.1 (−0.5) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −23.8 (−31.0) | −17.6 (−27.6) | −4.7 (−20.4) | 13.4 (−10.3) | 26.9 (−2.8) | 39.7 (4.3) | 46.2 (7.9) | 43.3 (6.3) | 29.8 (−1.2) | 15.9 (−8.9) | −1.0 (−18.3) | −16.0 (−26.7) | −27.9 (−33.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −45 (−43) | −45 (−43) | −36 (−38) | −12 (−24) | 13 (−11) | 30 (−1) | 32 (0) | 32 (0) | 10 (−12) | −10 (−23) | −30 (−34) | −43 (−42) | −45 (−43) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.48 (12) | 0.52 (13) | 0.84 (21) | 1.34 (34) | 2.50 (64) | 3.36 (85) | 3.07 (78) | 2.50 (64) | 1.72 (44) | 1.43 (36) | 0.69 (18) | 0.60 (15) | 19.05 (484) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 8.9 (23) | 7.5 (19) | 8.5 (22) | 4.6 (12) | 0.4 (1.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 2.5 (6.4) | 8.0 (20) | 10.1 (26) | 50.5 (128) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 8.1 | 10.4 | 11.6 | 9.7 | 8.0 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 6.6 | 7.7 | 99.8 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 9.9 | 8.7 | 6.3 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 8.0 | 10.1 | 44.6 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 71.3 | 72.4 | 69.9 | 61.8 | 60.1 | 65.0 | 61.8 | 60.6 | 63.7 | 63.8 | 72.0 | 74.5 | 66.4 |
| Average dew point °F (°C) | 2.3 (−16.5) | 8.6 (−13.0) | 18.9 (−7.3) | 28.6 (−1.9) | 39.6 (4.2) | 50.5 (10.3) | 54.9 (12.7) | 52.0 (11.1) | 42.4 (5.8) | 32.2 (0.1) | 19.8 (−6.8) | 7.5 (−13.6) | 29.8 (−1.2) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 149.4 | 153.5 | 222.3 | 244.3 | 296.1 | 318.1 | 354.6 | 316.2 | 245.9 | 191.7 | 122.6 | 122.9 | 2,737.6 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 53 | 53 | 60 | 60 | 64 | 67 | 74 | 72 | 65 | 57 | 43 | 46 | 61 |
| Average ultraviolet index | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 4.7 | 6.3 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 6.7 | 4.6 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 3.9 |
| Source 1: NOAA (relative humidity and sun 1961–1990) |
| Source 2: UV Index Today (1995 to 2022) |

## Education

### Elementary, middle and high schools

The Bismarck Public Schools system has 17 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and public high schools, and an alternative high school.

There are also three elementary schools run by churches. One of them is St. Mary's Grade School. This school was founded in 1878. It is the oldest elementary school that still runs in North Dakota.

The city has three private high schools.

### Higher education

There are three colleges and a university in Bismarck. The University of Mary is a four-year university. Bismarck State College is a two-year public college. United Tribes Technical College is a two-year tribal college. Sanford Health runs a nursing school.