Sheridan County, North Dakota

Sheridan County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,265, and was estimated to be 1,296 in 2025.

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, naming it for Civil War General Philip Henry Sheridan. The county organization was not completed at that time, but the new county was not attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. In 1883 and again in 1887, the county boundaries were reduced, and on November 8, 1892, the county was dissolved, its remaining territory assigned to McLean. This lasted until the November 3, 1908 election, when McLean County voters chose to partition off the eastern portion of that unit into a new county, although the new boundaries were somewhat different from the former Sheridan. The new county government was effected on December 24 of that year.

Sheridan has been severely affected by out-migration; its population collapsed from 7,373 in 1930 to 1,321 by 2010. Its population decline of 38.4% from 1990 to 2016 was the highest among all North Dakota counties.

thumb|Outline map of Sheridan County, North Dakota, 1914

Geography

The terrain of Sheridan County consists of dry rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds. The area is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the north and east, with its highest point on the eastern part of its southern boundary at ASL.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.31%) is water. It is the 43rd largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Major highways

20px U.S. Highway 52
20px North Dakota Highway 14
20px North Dakota Highway 53
20px North Dakota Highway 200

Adjacent counties

McHenry County - north
Pierce County - northeast
Wells County - east
Kidder County - southeast
Burleigh County - south
McLean County - west

National protected area

Sheyenne Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Lakes

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 676 estimated households in Sheridan County with an average of 1.96 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $67,361. Approximately 16.5% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Sheridan County has an estimated 56.7% employment rate, with 20.3% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 90.8% 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 (97.7%), Spanish (0.0%), Indo-European (1.9%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.0%), and Other (0.4%).

The median age in the county was 50.8 years.

Sheridan 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)

| 2,811 (99.72%) || 2,137 (99.49%) || 1,692 (98.95%) || 1,272 (96.29%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |1,191 (94.15%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || 2 (0.12%) || 0 (0.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |2 (0.16%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 5 (0.18%) || 9 (0.42%) || 7 (0.41%) || 14 (1.06%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |11 (0.87%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 1 (0.04%) || 1 (0.05%) || 0 (0.00%) || 2 (0.15%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |6 (0.47%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 0 (0.00%) || 2 (0.15%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |0 (0.00%)

| Other race alone (NH)

| 1 (0.04%) || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |4 (0.32%)

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 3 (0.18%) || 15 (1.14%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |41 (3.24%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 1 (0.04%) || 1 (0.05%) || 6 (0.35%) || 16 (1.21%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |10 (0.79%)

| Total

| 2,819 (100.00%) || 2,148 (100.00%) || 1,710 (100.00%) || 1,321 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |1,265 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 1,268 people and 676 households residing in the county. There were 821 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.9% White (93.1% NH White), 0.3% African American, 2.1% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.3% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 1,265 people, 585 households, and 369 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 808 housing units at an average density of .

Of the residents, 19.7% were under the age of 18 and 28.2% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 51.8 years. For every 100 females there were 111.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 114.3 males.

There were 585 households in the county, of which 19.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 19.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

New Germantown

Education

School districts include:

Drake Public School District 57
Anamoose Public School District 14
Goodrich Public School District 16
Harvey Public School District 38
McClusky Public School District 19
Turtle Lake-Mercer Public School District 72

References

External links

Sheridan County – official website
Sheridan County GenWeb - Genealogy Links
Sheridan County map, North Dakota DOT