Ramsey County, North Dakota

Ramsey County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,605, and was estimated to be 11,530 in 2025.

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, with areas partitioned from Pembina County. The county was named for Alexander Ramsey, a U.S. Senator from Minnesota and the first Minnesota Territorial Governor. The county government was not completed at that time, and the county was not attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. This situation continued until January 25, 1883, when the county government was affected.

The county's boundaries were altered twice in March 1883, twice more in 1885, and again in 1890. Its present boundaries have remained unchanged since 1890.

thumb|Outline map of Ramsey County, North Dakota, 1909

Geography

The southwest boundary of Ramsey County is defined by Devils Lake. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds. The area is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the lake, with its highest point at the NE county corner, at ASL.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (%) is water. It is the 26th largest county in North Dakota by total area.

thumb|Ramsey County is beautiful “pothole country” In the center of a migratory bird flyway.

Major highways

25px U.S. Highway 2
25px U.S. Highway 281
25px North Dakota Highway 1
25px North Dakota Highway 17
25px North Dakota Highway 19
25px North Dakota Highway 20
25px North Dakota Highway 57

Transit

Amtrak Empire Builder (Devils Lake station)
Devils Lake Transit

Adjacent counties

Cavalier County - north
Walsh County - east
Nelson County - southeast
Benson County - southwest
Towner County - northwest

National protected areas

Lake Alice National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Silver Lake National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Lakes

Source:

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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 5,185 estimated households in Ramsey County with an average of 2.14 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $61,319. Approximately 12.4% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Ramsey County has an estimated 67.7% employment rate, with 27.6% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 93.1% 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 (95.7%), Spanish (0.4%), Indo-European (1.5%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.9%), and Other (1.4%).

The median age in the county was 40.2 years.

Ramsey 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)

| 12,662 (97.04%) || 12,001 (94.64%) || 11,112 (92.09%) || 9,980 (87.15%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |9,354 (80.60%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 5 (0.04%) || 20 (0.16%) || 22 (0.18%) || 41 (0.36%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |73 (0.63%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 331 (2.54%) || 577 (4.55%) || 639 (5.30%) || 964 (8.42%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |1,227 (10.57%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 15 (0.11%) || 29 (0.23%) || 31 (0.26%) || 45 (0.39%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |72 (0.62%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 3 (0.02%) || 5 (0.04%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |10 (0.09%)

| Other race alone (NH)

| 6 (0.05%) || 5 (0.04%) || 4 (0.03%) || 4 (0.03%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |8 (0.07%)

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 192 (1.59%) || 275 (2.40%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |587 (5.06%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 29 (0.22%) || 49 (0.39%) || 63 (0.52%) || 137 (1.20%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |274 (2.36%)

| Total

| 13,048 (100.00%) || 12,681 (100.00%) || 12,066 (100.00%) || 11,451 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |11,605 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 11,510 people and 5,185 households residing in the county. There were 5,899 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 82.7% White (81.2% NH White), 1.1% African American, 11.8% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.0% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 11,605 people, 4,947 households, and 2,883 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 5,843 housing units at an average density of ; 15.3% were vacant, the homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0%, and the rental vacancy rate was 13.4%.

Of the residents, 23.1% were under the age of 18 and 20.8% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 40.6 years. For every 100 females there were 101.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.3 males. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.4% of the population.

Education

School districts include:

Dakota Prairie Public School District 1
Devils Lake Public School District 1
Edmore Public School District 2
Lakota Public School District 66
Leeds Public School District 6
Minnewaukan Public School District 5
North Star School District
Starkweather Public School District 44
Warwick Public School District 29

References

External links

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