Burke County, North Dakota

Burke County is a county on the north edge of the U.S. state of North Dakota, adjacent to the south line of Canada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,201, and was estimated to be 2,132 in 2025. The county is named after John Burke, the tenth Governor of North Dakota.

History

A vote was held on November 3, 1908, in which county voters authorized the partition of Burke County from what was then known as 'Imperial Ward County' (which consisted of what is now Burke, Mountrail, Renville, and Ward counties). Its name recognized the state governor at the time, John Burke. However, the vote was challenged in court, and appealed to the state supreme court. That court ruled on June 3, 1910, to uphold the election results, and on July 12, Governor Burke issued a proclamation creating Burke County. It was organized on July 15 with Bowbells being its county seat.

The county is managed by a two-member Board of Commissioners: Richard Owings (Lignite) and Shannon Holter (Bowbells). As of 2025 the board chair is Jarret Van Berkom.

Geography

Burke County lies on the north line of North Dakota. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Saskatchewan, Canada. The Des Lacs River flows south-southeasterly through the east part of the county, and the White Earth River flows northeasterly through the lower part. The county terrain consists of semi-arid low hills in the northeast part of the county, with higher carved and eroded ridges on the southwestern portion of the county. The area is partly used for agriculture. The terrain slopes to the north; its highest point is on the lower west boundary line, at ASL.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.25%) is water. It is the 33rd largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Major highways

25px U.S. Highway 52
25px North Dakota Highway 5
25px North Dakota Highway 8
25px North Dakota Highway 40
25px North Dakota Highway 50

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

Estevan No. 5, Saskatchewan – north
Coalfields No. 4, Saskatchewan – north
Enniskillen No. 3, Saskatchewan – north
Renville County – east
Ward County – southeast
Mountrail County – south
Williams County – southwest
Divide County – west

Protected areas

Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge (part)

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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 931 estimated households in Burke County with an average of 2.32 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $96,339. Approximately 9.0% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Burke County has an estimated 64.6% employment rate, with 23.5% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 92.7% 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 (95.9%), Spanish (1.5%), Indo-European (0.2%), Asian and Pacific Islander (2.4%), and Other (0.0%). The median age in the county was 41.1 years.

Burke 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)

| 3,794 (99.27%) || 2,970 (98.93%) || 2,220 (99.02%) || 1,891 (96.09%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |2,049 (93.09%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 3 (0.08%) || 1 (0.03%) || 3 (0.13%) || 4 (0.20%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |12 (0.55%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 5 (0.13%) || 11 (0.37%) || 5 (0.22%) || 12 (0.61%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |21 (0.95%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 5 (0.13%) || 6 (0.20%) || 3 (0.13%) || 13 (0.66%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |12 (0.55%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

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

| Other race alone (NH)

| 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |5 (0.23%)

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 3 (0.13%) || 11 (0.56%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |43 (1.95%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 15 (0.39%) || 14 (0.47%) || 8 (0.36%) || 37 (1.88%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |59 (2.68%)

| Total

| 3,822 (100.00%) || 3,002 (100.00%) || 2,242 (100.00%) || 1,968 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |2,201 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 2,154 people and 931 households residing in the county. There were 1,383 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.5% White (91.2% NH White), 0.8% African American, 1.6% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.6% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 2,201, 954 households, and 576 families residing in the county. Of the residents, 25.4% were under the age of 18 and 20.4% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 41.4 years. For every 100 females there were 117.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 114.8 males.

There were 954 households in the county, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 18.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Kincaid
Northgate
Perella
Rival
Stampede
Woburn

which currently have no governmental authority.

Battleview
Bowbells
Carter
Clayton
Cleary
Colville
Dale
Dimond
Fay
Foothills
Forthun
Garness
Harmonious
Kandiyohi
Keller
Lakeview
Leaf Mountain
Lucy
Minnesota
North Star
Portal
Richland
Roseland
Short Creek
Soo
Thorson
Vale
Vanville
Ward

Politics

Burke County voters have been reliably Republican for several decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024). In 1912, it was one of only four counties nationwide to vote for Socialist nominee Eugene Debs.