Towner County, North Dakota

Towner County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population is 2,162,<ref name="2020 Census (City)">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was estimated to be 2,051 in 2024.<ref name="QF"/> The county seat and largest city is Cando.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is south of the Canada–US border with Manitoba.

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on March 8, 1883, with areas partitioned from Cavalier and Rolette counties. It was named for Oscar M. Towner (1842–1897), a businessman and member of the 15th territorial legislature. The county organization was not completed at that time, and the county was attached to Pembina County for judicial and administrative purposes. That lasted until January 24, 1884, when the county organization was effected, and its attachment to Pembina was dissolved. However, on January 26, 1889, the county was attached to Ramsey County for judicial and administrative purposes. This arrangement only lasted a few months. The boundaries of Towner County, as first formed, have not been altered to the present (as of 2019).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The county should not be confused with the city of Towner, which is located in McHenry County.

File:Map of Towner County, N.D., 1909.jpg

Outline map of Towner County, North Dakota, 1909

Geography

Towner County lies on the north line of North Dakota, and thus on the north line of the continental United States. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Canada. Its terrain consists of rolling hills dotted with lakes and ponds. The area is devoted to agriculture.<ref name="TCND">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Laurentian Divide runs across Towner County - the northern terrain slopes to the north while the southern terrain slopes to the south, and the county as a whole slightly slopes to the east.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=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 (1.59%) is water.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is the 36th largest county in North Dakota by total area.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Towner County, North Dakota Weather Data

Averages use 1901-2000

Records are from 1895–Present

	Avg Temp	Min Temp	Max Temp	Precip
Avg Jan	0.92	-9.39	11.26	0.59
Hist Hi Jan	21.80  2006	14.20   2006	29.50  2006	2.10  1917
Hist Lo Jan	-16.70 1950	-25.40 1950	-8.00  1950	0.02 1973
Avg Feb	6.84	-3.66	8.60	0.43
Hist Hi Feb	24.00 1954	17.40 1998	33.60 1954	2.11 1998
Hist Lo Feb	-17.60 1936	-27.00 1936	-8.30 1936	0.03 1971
Avg Mar	20.54	10.22	30.85	0.75
Hist Hi Mar	38.00 1910	25.70 2012	50.90 1910	3.02 1902
Hist Lo Mar	2.70 1899	-9.90 1899	15.20 1899	0.02 2019
Avg Apr	38.55	26.88	50.22	1.17
Hist Hi Apr	48.20 1987	34.20 2006	64.30 1952	4.19 1896
Hist Lo Apr	25.70 2013	15.80 2013	35.60 2013	0.03 1952
Avg May	51.97	38.54	65.39	2.19
Hist Hi May	63.40 1977	48.50 1977	78.40 1977	6.37 1999
Hist Lo May	41.40 1907	27.90 1907	54.80 1907	0.18 1907
Avg Jun	61.14	48.53	73.75	4.05
Hist Hi Jun	71.70 1988	56.20 1988	87.20 1988	11.08 1954
Hist Lo Jun	53.50 1915	41.70 1969	65.20 1915	0.97 1900
Avg Jul	66.51	53.30	79.73	2.81
Hist Hi Jul	76.50 1936	59.80 1936	93.20 1936	8.48 1993
Hist Lo Jul	59.50 1992	47.90 1915	70.60 1992	0.41 1985
Avg Aug	64.30	50.45	78.14	2.48
Hist Hi Aug	71.50 1983	56.50 1983	88.30 1961	7.57 1980
Hist Lo Aug	57.70 2004	45.30 1977	69.00 2004	0.24 1961
Avg Sep	53.85	40.58	67.12	1.74
Hist Hi Sep	63.30 2009	49.80 2009	78.90 1897	6.16 1941
Hist Lo Sep	44.60 1965	33.80 1965	55.50 1965	0.06 1938
Avg Oct	41.42	29.28	53.55	1.10
Hist Hi Oct	52.50 1963	37.90 1963	67.00 1963	5.16 1994
Hist Lo Oct	29.40 1919	17.90 1919	39.00 1925	0.06 1944
Avg Nov	22.75	13.48	32.03	0.67
Hist Hi Nov	37.80 2016	28.30 2016	47.30 2016	2.93 2000
Hist Lo Nov	2.50 1896	-5.60 1896	10.50 1896	0.02 1939
Avg Dec	7.91	-1.64	17.46	0.59
Hist Hi Dec	22.80 1939	14.70 1997	32.90 1939	1.85 1906
Hist Lo Dec	-5.40 1917	-15.30 1917	4.10 1983	0.01 1954
Avg 12 Mo	36.39	24.71	48.07	1.49
Hi 12 Mo	76.50 Jul 1936	59.80 Jul 1936	93.20 Jul 1936	11.08 Jun 1954
Lo 12 Mo	-17.60 Feb 1936	-27.00 Feb 1936	-8.30 Feb 1936	0.01 Dec 1954

Major highways

• File:US 281.svg U.S. Route 281
• File:ND-4 (2015).svg North Dakota Highway 4
• File:ND-5 (2015).svg North Dakota Highway 5
• File:ND-17 (2015).svg North Dakota Highway 17
• File:ND-66 (2015).svg North Dakota Highway 66

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

• Municipality of Killarney-Turtle Mountain, Manitoba - northwest
• Cartwright-Roblin Municipality, Manitoba - north
• Municipality of Louise, Manitoba - northeast
• Cavalier County - east
• Ramsey County - southeast
• Benson County - south
• Pierce County - southwest
• Rolette County - west

National protected areas

• Brumba National Wildlife Refuge
• Lake Alice National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Rock Lake National Wildlife Refuge
• Snyder Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Lakes<ref name=TCND/>

• Armourdale Lake
• Brumba Pool
• Lake Alice (part)
• McLaughlin Lake
• Moore Lake
• Pound Lake
• Rock Lake
• Snyder Lake

Demographics

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Towner County was $130,113.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 958 estimated households in Towner County with an average of 2.17 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $63,017. Approximately 9.4% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Towner County has an estimated 63.0% employment rate, with 18.9% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 89.5% holding a high school diploma.<ref name="QF">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=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 (97.3%), Spanish (2.2%), Indo-European (0.1%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.0%), and Other (0.4%).

The median age in the county was 50.3 years.

Towner County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
Template:Nobold

Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic)	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> !! Pop. 1990<ref name="Census 1990">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> !! Pop. 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> !! Pop. 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> !! Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
White alone (NH)	4,003 (98.79%)	3,562 (98.21%)	2,797 (97.25%)	2,165 (96.39%)	1,984 (91.77%)
Black or African American alone (NH)	3 (0.07%)	2 (0.06%)	2 (0.07%)	2 (0.09%)	2 (0.09%)
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	41 (1.01%)	53 (1.46%)	57 (1.98%)	49 (2.18%)	71 (3.28%)
Asian alone (NH)	3 (0.07%)	5 (0.14%)	2 (0.07%)	1 (0.04%)	10 (0.46%)
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	—	—	0 (0.00%)	0 (0.00%)	1 (0.05%)
Other race alone (NH)	0 (0.00%)	0 (0.00%)	0 (0.00%)	4 (0.18%)	4 (0.19%)
Mixed race or multiracial (NH)	—	—	13 (0.45%)	15 (0.67%)	56 (2.59%)
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	2 (0.05%)	5 (0.14%)	5 (0.17%)	10 (0.45%)	34 (1.57%)
Total	4,052 (100.00%)	3,627 (100.00%)	2,876 (100.00%)	2,246 (100.00%)	2,162 (100.00%)

2024 Estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 2,051 people and 958 households residing in the county. There were 1,283 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 91.0% White (87.8% NH White), 0.5% African American, 5.5% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.8% of the population.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,162 people, 965 households, and 587 families residing in the county.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 1,290 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 91.91% White, 0.09% African American, 3.28% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from some other races and 3.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.57% of the population.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 2,246 people, 1,048 households, and 639 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 1,449 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 96.75% White, 0.09% African American, 2.18% Native American, 0.04% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from some other races and 0.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.45% of the population.

In terms of ancestry, 46.5% were German, 41.5% were Norwegian, 10.4% were Irish, 7.4% were English, 5.5% were Swedish, and 3.2% were American.

There were 1,048 households, 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.0% were non-families, and 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.71. The median age was 50.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,684 and the median income for a family was $54,609. Males had a median income of $36,350 versus $26,164 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,203. About 8.5% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

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Communities

Cities

• Bisbee
• Cando (county seat)
• Egeland
• Hansboro
• Perth
• Rocklake
• Sarles (mostly in Cavalier County<ref>2007 Taxable Valuation Survey Template:Webarchive, North Dakota League of Cities</ref>)

Unincorporated communities

• Agate
• Armourdale
• Arndt
• Considine
• Crocus
• Elsberry
• Maza
• Newville
• Olmstead
• Pasha

Townships

• Armourdale
• Atkins
• Bethel
• Cando
• Coolin
• Crocus
• Dash
• Gerrard
• Grainfield
• Howell
• Lansing
• Maza
• Monroe
• Mount View
• New City
• Olson
• Paulson
• Picton
• Rock Lake
• Sidney
• Smith
• Sorenson
• Springfield
• Teddy
• Twin Hill
• Victor
• Virginia
• Zion

Education

School districts include:<ref name="SchoolDistrict">Template:Cite map - Text list</ref>

• Leeds Public School District 6
• Mount Pleasant Public School District 4
• Munich Public School District 19
• North Star School District 10
• Starkweather Public School District 44

Former school districts:

• Bisbee-Egeland School District - Formed in 1980 with the merger of the Bisbee and Egeland districts,<ref name=Endsinacceptance>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> known as West Central School District 12 and East Central School District 12, respectively.<ref name=Schatz>Template:Cite news - Clipping from Newspapers.com - The author was an English teacher at Bisbee-Egeland High School.</ref> Merged into North Star Schools in 2008.<ref name=Endsinacceptance/>

• Cando School District - Merged into North Star Schools in 2008.<ref name=Endsinacceptance/>
• North Central Public School District 28<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }} - Text list</ref>

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Towner County, North Dakota

External links

• Towner County – official website
• Towner County map, North Dakota DOT