Kidder County, North Dakota

Kidder County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,394, and was estimated to be 2,393 in 2025.

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, with areas partitioned from Buffalo County. The county government was not organized at that time, nor was the area attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. It was named for Jefferson Parrish Kidder, a delegate to the United States Congress from Dakota Territory (1875–1879) and associate justice of the territorial supreme court (1865–1875, 1879–1883). The county government was affected on March 22, 1881.

The county boundaries were altered on 1879 with territory partitioned to Burleigh, and in 1885 with territory partitioned from Burleigh County. Its boundaries have remained unchanged since 1885.

thumb|Outline map of Kidder County, North Dakota, 1912

Geography

The terrain of Kidder County consists of hills dotted with lakes and ponds, largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east and south; its highest point is a hill near its northwestern corner, at ASL.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (5.71%) is water. It is the 20th largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Major highways

Lakes

Source:

Long Lake (partial)
McPhall Slough
Mud Lake
Pursian Lake
Round Lake
Salt Alkaline Lake
Sibley Lake
Swan Lake
Upper Harker Lake
Willow Lake
Woodhouse Lake

Adjacent counties

Wells County - north
Stutsman County - east
Logan County - south
Emmons County - southwest
Burleigh County - west
Sheridan County -northwest

Protected areas

Source:

| align-fn = center

| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 1,129 estimated households in Kidder County with an average of 2.10 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $61,850. Approximately 14.2% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Kidder County has an estimated 55.0% employment rate, with 21.3% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 91.8% 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 (97.2%), Spanish (1.3%), Indo-European (1.4%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.0%), and Other (0.1%).

The median age in the county was 47.8 years.

Kidder 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)

| 3,821 (99.69%) || 3,321 (99.67%) || 2,723 (98.91%) || 2,329 (95.65%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |2,271 (94.86%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || 5 (0.18%) || 6 (0.25%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |3 (0.13%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 2 (0.05%) || 0 (0.00%) || 3 (0.11%) || 3 (0.12%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |11 (0.46%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 3 (0.08%) || 4 (0.12%) || 2 (0.07%) || 22 (0.90%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |1 (0.04%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |5 (0.21%)

| Other race alone (NH)

| 1 (0.03%) || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |0 (0.00%)

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 4 (0.15%) || 4 (0.16%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |51 (2.13%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 6 (0.16%) || 7 (0.21%) || 16 (0.58%) || 71 (2.92%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |52 (2.17%)

| Total

| 3,833 (100.00%) || 3,332 (100.00%) || 2,753 (100.00%) || 2,435 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |2,394 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 2,371 people and 1,129 households residing in the county. There were 1,636 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.9% White (94.1% NH White), 0.5% African American, 1.6% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.6% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,394 people, 1,043 households, and 652 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 1,631 housing units at an average density of .

Of the residents, 21.6% were under the age of 18 and 25.0% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 47.2 years. For every 100 females there were 113.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 113.5 males.

The racial makeup of the county was 95.2% White, 0.1% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, 1.2% from some other race, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.2% of the population.

There were 1,043 households, of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 16.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Education

School districts include:

Gackle-Streeter Public School District 56
Fessenden-Bowdon Public School District 25
Kidder County School District 1
Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock Public School District 6
Napoleon Public School District 2

References

External links

Kidder County maps, Sheet 1 (southern) and Sheet 2 (northern), North Dakota DOT