Adams County, North Dakota

Adams County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,200, and was estimated to be 2,275 in 2025.

History

The county was created on April 17, 1907, and organized a week later. It was named for John Quincy Adams (1848–1919), a railroad official for the Milwaukee Road Railroad and distant relative of sixth U.S. President John Quincy Adams (1767–1848). In 1923, Adams County was the site of one of the deadliest tornadoes in North Dakota's recorded history. The "Adams County Twister' killed eight people and injured 20. Its terrain generally slopes eastward, and its highest point is on its upper west boundary line, at ASL.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.11%) is water. It is the 40th largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Adjacent counties

Hettinger County – north
Grant County – northeast
Sioux County – east
Corson County, South Dakota – southeast
Perkins County, South Dakota – south
Harding County, South Dakota – southwest
Bowman County – west
Slope County – northwest

Major highways

25px U.S. Highway 12
25px North Dakota Highway 8
25px North Dakota Highway 22

Protected areas

North Lemmon Lake State Game Management Area

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|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020 As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 1,019 estimated households in Adams County with an average of 2.06 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $55,417. Approximately 11.8% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Adams County has an estimated 56.9% employment rate, with 20.8% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 92.4% holding a high school diploma.

The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (93.9%), Spanish (4.0%), Indo-European (1.4%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.0%), and Other (0.7%). The median age in the county was 50.0 years.

Adams County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size: 95%;"

! Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic)

! Pop. 1980 !! Pop. 1990 !! Pop. 2000 !! Pop. 2010 !!

| White alone (NH)

| 3,559 (99.30%) || 3,160 (99.56%) || 2,550 (98.34%) || 2,266 (96.71%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |2,028 (92.18%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 1 (0.03%) || 3 (0.09%) || 14 (0.54%) || 8 (0.34%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |12 (0.55%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 8 (0.22%) || 10 (0.32%) || 8 (0.31%) || 15 (0.64%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |14 (0.64%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 7 (0.20%) || 0 (0.00%) || 4 (0.15%) || 9 (0.38%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |39 (1.77%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 1 (0.04%) || 2 (0.09%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |1 (0.05%)

| Other race alone (NH)

| 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |0 (0.00%)

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 9 (0.35%) || 23 (0.98%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |70 (3.18%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 9 (0.25%) || 1 (0.03%) || 7 (0.27%) || 20 (0.85%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |36 (1.64%)

| Total

| 3,584 (100.00%) || 3,174 (100.00%) || 2,593 (100.00%) || 2,343 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |2,200 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 2,141 people and 1,019 households residing in the county. There were 1,362 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.4% White (88.8% NH White), 1.7% African American, 1.1% Native American, 3.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.0% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 2,200. There were 1,011 households and 599 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 1,364 housing units at an average density of .

Of the residents, 19.7% were under the age of 18 and 29.4% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 50.9 years. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.4 males.

There were 1,011 households in the county, of which 21.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 24.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

West Adams

Defunct townships

Argonne
Cedar Butte
Dakota
Holden
Holt
Jordan
Kansas City
Lemmon
North Lemmon
Spring Butte
Whetstone

Politics

Adams County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In only two national elections since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.

References

External links

Adams County official website
Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
Official 1968 Adams County, North Dakota Farm & Ranch Directory Directory of service companies provided by Farm and Home, 1968
Adams County map North Dakota DOT, archived at the Wayback Machine