Burke County, North Dakota
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county
Burke County is a county on the north edge of the U.S. state of North Dakota, adjacent to the south line of Canada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,201,<ref name="2020 Census (City)">Template:Cite web</ref> and was estimated to be 2,154 in 2024,<ref name="QF"/> The county seat is Bowbells and the largest city is Powers Lake.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county is named after John Burke, the tenth Governor of North Dakota.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
A vote was held on November 3, 1908, in which county voters authorized the partition of Burke County from what was then known as 'Imperial Ward County' (which consisted of what is now Burke, Mountrail, Renville, and Ward counties). Its name recognized the state governor at the time, John Burke. However, the vote was challenged in court, and appealed to the state supreme court. That court ruled on June 3, 1910, to uphold the election results,<ref>Template:Cite court</ref> and on July 12, Governor Burke issued a proclamation creating Burke County. It was organized on July 15 with Bowbells being its county seat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The county is managed by a two-member Board of Commissioners: Richard Owings (Lignite) and Shannon Holter (Bowbells). As of 2025 the board chair is Jarret Van Berkom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Geography
Burke County lies on the north line of North Dakota. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Canada. The Des Lacs River flows south-southeasterly through the east part of the county, and the White Earth River flows northeasterly through the lower part. The county terrain consists of semi-arid low hills in the northeast part of the county, with higher carved and eroded ridges on the southwestern portion of the county. The area is partly used for agriculture.<ref name=BCND>Burke County ND Google Maps (accessed February 15, 2019)</ref> The terrain slopes to the north; its highest point is on the lower west boundary line, at Template:Convert ASL.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (2.25%) is water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is the 33rd largest county in North Dakota by total area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Major highways
U.S. Highway 52
North Dakota Highway 5
North Dakota Highway 8
North Dakota Highway 40
North Dakota Highway 50
Adjacent counties and rural municipalities
- Estevan No. 5, Saskatchewan – north
- Coalfields No. 4, Saskatchewan – north
- Enniskillen No. 3, Saskatchewan – north
- Renville County – east
- Ward County – southeast
- Mountrail County – south
- Williams County – southwest
- Divide County – west
Protected areas
- Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge (part)
- Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge (part)<ref name=BCND/>
Lakes
- Beaver Lake
- Enget Lake
- Iverson Slough
- Powers Lake (part)
- Shallow Lake
- Swensons Slouth
- Teal Slough
- Thompson Slough
- Upper Thompson Lake
Template:Div col end<ref name=BCND/>
Demographics
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Burke County was $150,351.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 931 estimated households in Burke County with an average of 2.32 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $96,339. Approximately 9.0% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Burke County has an estimated 64.6% employment rate, with 23.5% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 92.7% holding a high school diploma.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref>
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 (95.9%), Spanish (1.5%), Indo-European (0.2%), Asian and Pacific Islander (2.4%), and Other (0.0%). The median age in the county was 41.1 years.
Burke County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
Template:Nobold
| Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) | Pop. 1980<ref name=1980CensusScope>Template:Cite web</ref> | Pop. 1990<ref name="Census 1990">Template:Cite web</ref> | Pop. 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref> | Pop. 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 3,794 (99.27%) |
2,970 (98.93%) |
2,220 (99.02%) |
1,891 (96.09%) |
2,049 (93.09%) |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 3 (0.08%) |
1 (0.03%) |
3 (0.13%) |
4 (0.20%) |
12 (0.55%) |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 5 (0.13%) |
11 (0.37%) |
5 (0.22%) |
12 (0.61%) |
21 (0.95%) |
| Asian alone (NH) | 5 (0.13%) |
6 (0.20%) |
3 (0.13%) |
13 (0.66%) |
12 (0.55%) |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | — | — | 0 (0.00%) |
0 (0.00%) |
0 (0.00%) |
| Other race alone (NH) | 0 (0.00%) |
0 (0.00%) |
0 (0.00%) |
0 (0.00%) |
5 (0.23%) |
| Mixed race or multiracial (NH) | — | — | 3 (0.13%) |
11 (0.56%) |
43 (1.95%) |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 15 (0.39%) |
14 (0.47%) |
8 (0.36%) |
37 (1.88%) |
59 (2.68%) |
| Total | 3,822 (100.00%) |
3,002 (100.00%) |
2,242 (100.00%) |
1,968 (100.00%) |
2,201 (100.00%) |
2024 estimate
As of the 2024 estimate, there were 2,154 people and 931 households residing in the county. There were 1,383 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 94.5% White (91.2% NH White), 0.8% African American, 1.6% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.6% of the population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 2,201 people, 954 households, and 576 families residing in the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 1,378 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 94.59% White, 0.59% African American, 1.14% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from some other races and 2.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.68% of the population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 1,968 people, 913 households, and 567 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 1,340 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 97.76% White, 0.20% African American, 0.76% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from some other races and 0.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.88% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 45.2% were of Norwegian, 34.9% German, 13% Swedish, and 10% Danish.
There were 913 households, 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.9% were non-families, and 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.74. The median age was 48.1 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $50,800 and the median income for a family was $62,283. Males had a median income of $49,958 versus $27,206 for females. The per capita income for the county was $32,347. About 3.3% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.
Population by decade
<timeline> 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)
ImageSize = width:650 height:325 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:10000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:2500 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1250 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo
BarData=
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:2024 text:present
PlotData=
color:barra width:25 align:left
bar:1910 from: 0 till:9064 bar:1920 from: 0 till:9511 bar:1930 from: 0 till:9998 bar:1940 from: 0 till:7653 bar:1950 from: 0 till:6621 bar:1960 from: 0 till:5886 bar:1970 from: 0 till:4739 bar:1980 from: 0 till:3822 bar:1990 from: 0 till:3002 bar:2000 from: 0 till:2242 bar:2010 from: 0 till:1968 bar:2020 from: 0 till:2201 bar:2024 from: 0 till:2154 color:darkblue
PlotData=
bar:1910 at:9064 fontsize:M text:9,064 shift:(-16,6) bar:1920 at:9511 fontsize:M text:9,511 shift:(-16,6) bar:1930 at:9998 fontsize:M text:9,998 shift:(-16,6) bar:1940 at:7653 fontsize:M text:7,653 shift:(-16,6) bar:1950 at:6621 fontsize:M text:6,621 shift:(-16,6) bar:1960 at:5886 fontsize:M text:5,886 shift:(-16,6) bar:1970 at:4739 fontsize:M text:4,739 shift:(-16,6) bar:1980 at:3822 fontsize:M text:3,822 shift:(-16,6) bar:1990 at:3002 fontsize:M text:3,002 shift:(-16,6) bar:2000 at:2242 fontsize:M text:2,242 shift:(-16,6) bar:2010 at:1968 fontsize:M text:1,968 shift:(-16,6) bar:2020 at:2201 fontsize:M text:2,201 shift:(-16,6) bar:2024 at:2154 fontsize:M text:2,154 shift:(-16,6)
TextData=
fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau
</timeline>
Economy
The main industries in Burke County are farming and oil extraction. Burke County is one of several western North Dakota counties with significant exposure to the Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin.
Communities
Cities
Census-designated place
Unincorporated communities
- Atcoal
- Battleview
- Coteau
- Kincaid
- Northgate
- Perella
- Rival
- Stampede
- Woburn
Template:Div col end<ref name=BCND/>
Townships
- Battleview
- Bowbells
- Carter
- Clayton
- Cleary
- Colville
- Dale
- Dimond
- Fay
- Foothills
- Forthun
- Garness
- Harmonious
- Kandiyohi
- Keller
- Lakeview
- Leaf Mountain
- Lucy
- Minnesota
- North Star
- Portal
- Richland
- Roseland
- Short Creek
- Soo
- Thorson
- Vale
- Vanville
- Ward
Politics
Burke County voters have been reliably Republican for several decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024). In 1912, it was one of only four counties nationwide to vote for Socialist nominee Eugene Debs.
Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot
See also
References
Template:Burke County, North Dakota Template:North Dakota Template:Authority control