Morton County, North Dakota

Morton County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,291, and was estimated to be 34,601 in 2025, the eighth-largest city in North Dakota.

Morton County is included in the Bismarck metropolitan area.

Early history

The county was created on January 8, 1873, by the Dakota Territory legislature, using territory that had not previously been included in any county. The county organization was not completed at that time, but the new county was not attached to any other county for administrative or judicial matters. Its organization was completed on November 5, 1878. It was named for Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton (1823-1877), governor of Indiana during the American Civil War and later a United States Senator. Portions of the county were partitioned off on February 10, 1879, causing the county organization to be not fully organized. This lasted until February 28, 1881, when the organization was again completed. The county's boundaries were adjusted in 1881 and in 1887. In 1916, a portion of Morton County was partitioned off to create Grant County, setting Morton County's boundaries to their present configuration.

After the Northern Pacific Railroad announced the location for the western approach to its Missouri River bridge, a new settlement appeared in December 1878. Initially the US Post Office designated the riverside settlement "Morton" after the corresponding county. The Morton post office later moved to the city center 3 miles west. The county was reorganized in 1881 after the detached land was returned to Morton County by the 1881 legislature. The town, eventually renamed Mandan, was named the county seat.

Recent history

:Further information: Curlew Township

DAPL protests

The 1,172-mile long Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) route submitted in its final permit applications starting in September 2014 would include a 72-mile portion through Morton County. The county became a focus of DAPL protests in April 2016. In August 2016 the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (SRST) filed an injunction against United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to attempt to halt construction. In his 58-page decision by United States District Judge James E. Boasberg shows that the tribe failed to participate in the process of the USACE and Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) to address the tribes complaints. Furthermore, the tribe did not cite a fear of water contamination in the injunction. The injunction request was denied and also failed on appeal. Amnesty International wrote a letter to Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier on September 28, 2016, requesting that he investigate the use of force by private contractors, remove blockades and discontinue the use of riot gear by Morton County sheriff's deputies when policing protests in order to facilitate the right to peaceful protests in accordance with international law and standards. This letter was written in response to private security guards using guard dogs on advancing protesters on September 3, along with using pepper spray. On Sunday, November 20, 2016, North Dakota police officers fired rubber bullets, tear gas, CS canisters and water from fire hoses at rioting protesters in subfreezing temperatures.

Geography

The Missouri River flows south-southeastward along the east boundary line of Morton County, and Cannonball River flows east-northeastward along the eastern portion of the county's south boundary line. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, etched by gullies and drainages; the more level areas are devoted to agriculture. The terrain generally slopes to the east and south, but also slopes into the river valleys, with the high point near the midpoint of the north boundary line, at ASL.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.99%) is water. It is the 7th largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Major highways

25px Interstate 94
25px North Dakota Highway 6
25px North Dakota Highway 21
25px North Dakota Highway 25
25px North Dakota Highway 31
25px North Dakota Highway 49
25px North Dakota Highway 1806

Transit

Bis-Man Transit (Capital Area Transit)

Adjacent counties

Oliver County - north
Burleigh County - northeast
Emmons County - east
Sioux County - southeast
Grant County - south
Stark County - west
Mercer County - northwest

Protected areas

Source:

|align-fn=center

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

As of the third quarter of 2025, the median home value in Morton County was $272,790.

As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there are 13,946 estimated households in Morton County with an average of 2.37 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $79,382. Approximately 8.0% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Morton County has an estimated 68.3% employment rate, with 28.8% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 94.8% holding a high school diploma. !! Pop. 1990 !! Pop. 2000 !! Pop. 2010 !! !! Pop. 2024

| White alone (NH)

| 24,821 (98.59%) || 23,168 (97.76%) || 24,161 (95.49%) || 25,537 (92.96%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |28,796 (86.50%) || 29,501 (86.28%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 7 (0.03%) || 12 (0.05%) || 38 (0.15%) || 112 (0.41%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |462 (1.39%) || 561 (1.64%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 230 (0.91%) || 399 (1.68%) || 589 (2.33%) || 959 (3.49%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |1,238 (3.72%) || 1,417 (4.14%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 25 (0.10%) || 47 (0.20%) || 77 (0.30%) || 53 (0.19%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |171 (0.51%) || 222 (0.65%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 2 (0.01%) || 24 (0.09%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |39 (0.12%) || 52 (0.15%)

| Other race alone (NH)

| 10 (0.04%) || 0 (0.00%) || 8 (0.03%) || 8 (0.03%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |74 (0.22%) || —

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 264 (1.04%) || 378 (1.38%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |1,199 (3.60%) || 832 (2.43%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 84 (0.33%) || 74 (0.31%) || 164 (0.65%) || 400 (1.46%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |1,312 (3.94%) || 1,609 (4.71%)

| Total

| 25,177 (100.00%) || 23,700 (100.00%) || 25,303 (100.00%) || 27,471 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |33,291 (100.00%) || 34,194 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 34,194 people, 13,946 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,465 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 89.85% White, 1.85% African American, 4.69% Native American, 0.69% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.71% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 33,291 people, 13,827 households, and 8,617 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,107 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.56% White, 1.40% African American, 3.97% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.53% from some other races and 4.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.94% of the population.

There were 13,827 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 23.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present; about 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Of the residents, 23.8% were under the age of 18 and 17.1% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 38.1 years. For every 100 females there were 101.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.8 males. Among occupied housing units, 70.9% were owner-occupied and 29.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.0%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 27,471 people, 11,289 households, and 7,523 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 12,079 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.64% White, 0.44% African American, 3.64% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from some other races and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.46% of the population.

There were 11,289 households, 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.4% were non-families, and 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 39.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $50,591 and the median income for a family was $62,713. Males had a median income of $42,044 versus $31,505 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,303. About 5.4% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Colors=

id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)

id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8)

id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1)

id:barra value:rgb(0.55,0.0,0.0)

id:darkblue value:rgb(0.0,0.0,0.8)

ImageSize = width:800 height:400

PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30

DateFormat = x.y

Period = from:0 till:34608

TimeAxis = orientation:vertical

AlignBars = late

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:8652 start:0

ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:4326 start:0

BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo

BarData=

bar:1880 text:1880

bar:1890 text:1890

bar:1900 text:1900

bar:1910 text:1910

bar:1920 text:1920

bar:1930 text:1930

bar:1940 text:1940

bar:1950 text:1950

bar:1960 text:1960

bar:1970 text:1970

bar:1980 text:1980

bar:1990 text:1990

bar:2000 text:2000

bar:2010 text:2010

bar:2020 text:2020

bar:2025 text:present

PlotData=

color:barra width:25 align:left

bar:1880 from: 0 till:200

bar:1890 from: 0 till:4728

bar:1900 from: 0 till:8069

bar:1910 from: 0 till:25289

bar:1920 from: 0 till:18714

bar:1930 from: 0 till:19647

bar:1940 from: 0 till:20184

bar:1950 from: 0 till:19295

bar:1960 from: 0 till:20992

bar:1970 from: 0 till:20310

bar:1980 from: 0 till:25177

bar:1990 from: 0 till:23700

bar:2000 from: 0 till:25303

bar:2010 from: 0 till:27471

bar:2020 from: 0 till:33291

bar:2025 from: 0 till:34601 color:darkblue

PlotData=

bar:1880 at:200 fontsize:M text:200 shift:(-16,6)

bar:1890 at:4728 fontsize:M text:4,728 shift:(-16,6)

bar:1900 at:8069 fontsize:M text:8,069 shift:(-16,6)

bar:1910 at:25289 fontsize:M text:25,289 shift:(-16,6)

bar:1920 at:18714 fontsize:M text:18,714 shift:(-16,6)

bar:1930 at:19647 fontsize:M text:19,647 shift:(-16,6)

bar:1940 at:20184 fontsize:M text:20,184 shift:(-16,6)

bar:1950 at:19295 fontsize:M text:19,295 shift:(-16,6)

bar:1960 at:20992 fontsize:M text:20,992 shift:(-16,6)

bar:1970 at:20310 fontsize:M text:20,310 shift:(-16,6)

bar:1980 at:25177 fontsize:M text:25,177 shift:(-16,6)

bar:1990 at:23700 fontsize:M text:23,700 shift:(-16,6)

bar:2000 at:25303 fontsize:M text:25,303 shift:(-16,6)

bar:2010 at:27471 fontsize:M text:27,471 shift:(-16,6)

bar:2020 at:33291 fontsize:M text:33,291 shift:(-16,6)

bar:2025 at:34601 fontsize:M text:34,601 shift:(-16,6)

TextData=

fontsize:S pos:(20,20)

text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau

</timeline>

Communities

thumb|Historic [[Lewis and Clark Hotel in Mandan]]

thumb|upright|[[Salem Sue in New Salem]]

Cities

Almont
Flasher
Glen Ullin
Hebron
Mandan (county seat)
New Salem

Census-designated place

Harmon

Unincorporated communities