Bottineau County, North Dakota

Bottineau County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,379. and was estimated to be 6,284 in 2025. Bottineau County has several lakes, predominantly in the north and east of the county. Bottineau County is home to Lake Metagoshe & Lake Metagoshe State Park, which is located in the north section of the county.

The Territorial legislature identified Bottineau as being one of the original counties of the territory on January 4, 1873. It was created on July 17, 1884. It is named for Pierre Bottineau (c.1814-1895), a Métis pioneer, hunter, and trapper who became a successful land speculator.

Bottineau is well known for its winter park, snowmobiling, and ice fishing. Manitoba and Saskatchewan are on its northern border.

Geography

thumb|right|Soils of Bottineau County

Bottineau County lies on the north side of North Dakota. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Canada. The Deep River flows south-southeastward through the center part of the county. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds. The terrain slopes to the south, with its highest point on its upper east boundary line, at ASL.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.70%) is water. It is the 11th largest county in North Dakota by total area. Part of the Turtle Mountain plateau lies in the northeastern corner of the county.

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

Argyle No. 1, Saskatchewan - north
Municipality of Two Borders, Manitoba - north
Municipality of Brenda-Waskada, Manitoba - north
Municipality of Deloraine-Winchester, Manitoba - north
Municipality of Boissevain-Morton, Manitoba - north
Rolette County - east
Pierce County - southeast
McHenry County - south
Renville County - west

Major highways

25px U.S. Highway 83
25px North Dakota Highway 5
25px North Dakota Highway 14
25px North Dakota Highway 43
25px North Dakota Highway 60
25px North Dakota Highway 256

Protected areas

J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Lake Metigoshe State Park
Lords Lake National Wildlife Refuge (part)
North Dakota State Forest Service Land

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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 2,695 estimated households in Bottineau County with an average of 2.27 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $83,460. Approximately 10.8% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Bottineau County has an estimated 58.5% employment rate, with 27.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 94.0% 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 (96.6%), Spanish (1.7.%), Indo-European (1.1%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.5%), and Other (0.0%). The median age in the county was 43.8 years.

Bottineau 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)

| 9,122 (98.73%) || 7,916 (98.81%) || 6,935 (97.01%) || 6,062 (94.29%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |5,688 (89.17%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 1 (0.01%) || 6 (0.07%) || 15 (0.21%) || 25 (0.39%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |31 (0.49%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 76 (0.82%) || 58 (0.72%) || 96 (1.34%) || 130 (2.02%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |197 (3.09%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 17 (0.18%) || 15 (0.19%) || 13 (0.18%) || 16 (0.25%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |42 (0.66%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 1 (0.01%) || 1 (0.02%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |1 (0.02%)

| Other race alone (NH)

| 6 (0.06%) || 0 (0.00%) || 1 (0.01%) || 2 (0.03%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |13 (0.20%)

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 53 (0.74%) || 111 (1.73%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |266 (4.17%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 17 (0.18%) || 16 (0.20%) || 35 (0.49%) || 82 (1.28%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |141 (2.21%)

| Total

| 9,239 (100.00%) || 8,011 (100.00%) || 7,149 (100.00%) || 6,429 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |6,379 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 6,391 people and 2,695 households residing in the county. There were 3,979 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 91.8% White (89.6% NH White), 0.7% African American, 4.0% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.7% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 6,379 people, 2,779 households, and 1,730 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 3,931 housing units at an average density of , of which 29.3% were vacant, 79.1% of occupied units were owner-occupied, and 20.9% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 4.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 14.4%.

Of the residents, 21.9% were under the age of 18 and 24.7% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 45.3 years. For every 100 females there were 105.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 104.7 males.

There were 2,779 households in the county, of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 20.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

References

External links

Bottineau County – official website
Bottineau County diamond jubilee, 1884-1959 : Bottineau, North Dakota, June 28-29-30-July 1, 1959 from the Digital Horizons website
Bottineau County opportunities : North Dakota - the sunshine state (1916) from the Digital Horizons website
Bottineau County maps, Sheet 1 (eastern) and Sheet 2 (western), North Dakota DOT