Bismarck, North Dakota

**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 . with typically wide variations between day and night. The coldest month in Bismarck is January. It has a mean temperature of . 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.

### 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.

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Bismarck, North Dakota
- **settlement type**: List of capitals in the United States, State capital city
- **named for**: Otto von Bismarck
- **image flag**: Flag of Bismarck, North Dakota.svg
- **image map**: ND Burleigh County Bismarck.svg
- **mapsize**: 250px
- **map caption**: Location within Burleigh County, North Dakota, Burleigh County in North Dakota
- **pushpin map**: North Dakota#USA
- **pushpin relief**: yes
- **pushpin label**: Bismarck
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision type2**: List of counties in North Dakota, County
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision name1**: North Dakota
- **subdivision name2**: Burleigh County, North Dakota, Burleigh
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **established title**: Founded
- **established date**: May 14, 1872
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **area total km2**: 91.12
- **area land km2**: 89.83
- **area water km2**: 1.29
- **area total sq mi**: 35.18
- **area land sq mi**: 34.69
- **area water sq mi**: 0.50
- **population as of**: 2020 United States census, 2020
- **population total**: 73622
- **population rank**: US: 500th
ND: List of cities in North Dakota, 2nd
- **population density km2**: 819.54
- **population density sq mi**: 2122.59
- **population urban**: 98198 (US: List of United States urban areas, 316th)
- **population metro**: 134846 (US: Metropolitan statistical area, 306th)
- **timezone**: Central Time Zone, Central
- **utc offset**: -6
- **timezone dst**: CDT
- **utc offset dst**: -5
- **elevation ft**: 1745
- **postal code type**: ZIP codes
- **postal code**: 58501–58507
- **area code**: Area code 701, 701
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS code
- **blank info**: 38-07200
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS feature ID
- **blank1 info**: 1035934
- **blank2 name**: Public transportation
- **blank2 info**: Bis-Man Transit