Mountrail County, North Dakota

Mountrail County is a county in the northwestern part of North Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,809, and was estimated to be 9,395 in 2025.

The county was originally created in 1873, then removed in 1892, and annexed by Ward County. It was re-created and organized in 1909.

The county is home to the headquarters of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara people, and a large part of the county belongs to the tribe's Fort Berthold reservation.

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county (as Mountraille County) on January 4, 1873, with an area annexed from Buffalo County. The origin of its name came from Joseph Mountraille, a locally famed Metis voyageur and mail carrier from Pembina under Norman Kittson's employment. The county was not organized at that time, nor was it attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. The new county lost territory in 1885 when a portion was annexed off to create Garfield County (now extinct). This situation continued until February 21, 1891, when Mountrail County was attached to Ward County for "judicial and other purposes." The following year (November 8, 1892), the North Dakota legislature voted to dissolve the county and have its territory absorbed by Ward County.

An election held in Ward County on November 3, 1908, authorized the re-creation of Mountrail County, although with different boundaries than the previous county proposal. The countywide vote totals were 4207 to 4024, but the result was contested in court. On January 16, 1909, the state Supreme Court upheld the vote,

so the county government was organized on January 29 of that year. The Laurentian Divide runs east–west through the central part of the county, with the northern areas sloping to the north and the southern areas sloping to the south. Its highest point is on the 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 (5.99%) is water. It is the 9th largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Mountrail County is one of several western North Dakota counties with significant exposure to the Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin.

Major highways

25px U.S. Highway 2
25px North Dakota Highway 8
25px North Dakota Highway 23
25px North Dakota Highway 37
25px North Dakota Highway 1804

Transit

Amtrak Empire Builder (Stanley station)

Adjacent counties

Burke County - north
Ward County - east
McLean County - southeast
Dunn County - south
McKenzie County - southwest
Williams County - west

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 3,839 estimated households in Mountrail County with an average of 2.46 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $81,292. Approximately 11.6% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Mountrail County has an estimated 63.3% employment rate, with 22.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 88.6% 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 (88.5%), Spanish (6.5.%), Indo-European (1.0%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.4%), and Other (3.6%).

The median age in the county was 35.1 years.

Mountrail 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)

| 6,724 (87.56%) || 5,591 (79.63%) || 4,358 (65.72%) || 4,931 (64.26%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |5,539 (56.47%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 1 (0.01%) || 4 (0.06%) || 6 (0.09%) || 16 (0.21%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |113 (1.15%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 917 (11.94%) || 1,387 (19.76%) || 1,935 (29.18%) || 2,240 (29.19%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |2,737 (27.90%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 15 (0.20%) || 14 (0.20%) || 14 (0.21%) || 15 (0.20%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |105 (1.07%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 3 (0.05%) || 1 (0.01%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |3 (0.03%)

| Other race alone (NH)

| 3 (0.04%) || 0 (0.00%) || 1 (0.02%) || 6 (0.08%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |34 (0.35%)

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 227 (3.42%) || 178 (2.32%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |510 (5.20%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 19 (0.25%) || 25 (0.36%) || 87 (1.31%) || 286 (3.73%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |768 (7.83%)

| Total

| 7,679 (100.00%) || 7,021 (100.00%) || 6,631 (100.00%) || 7,673 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |9,809 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 9,474 people and 3,839 households residing in the county. There were 5,176 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 62.9% White (57.5% NH White), 2.0% African American, 30.4% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 8.9% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 9,809 people, 3,715 households, and 2,407 families residing in the county. The population density was .

Of the residents, 27.9% were under the age of 18 and 13.5% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 35.0 years. For every 100 females there were 109.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 112.3 males.

The racial makeup of the county was 58.2% White, 1.2% Black or African American, 29.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% Asian, 2.5% from some other race, and 8.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.8% of the population.

There were 3,715 households in the county, of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 21.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.|source2=

Education

School districts include:

Kenmare Public School District 28 in Kenmare
Lewis and Clark Public School District 161 in Berthold
New Town Public School District 1 in New Town
Parshall Public School District 3 in Parshall
Powers Lake Public School District 27 in Powers Lake
Stanley Public School District 2 in Stanley
Tioga Public School District 15 in Tioga

References

External links

Mountrail County – official website
Mountrail County maps, Sheet 1 (northern) and Sheet 2 (southern), North Dakota DOT