Traill County, North Dakota
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Traill County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population at 7,997,<ref name="2020 Census (City)">Template:Cite web</ref> and was estimated to be 7,989 in 2024.<ref name="QF"/> The county seat is Hillsboro and the largest city is Mayville.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 12, 1875, with areas partitioned from Burbank (now Barnes), Cass, and Grand Forks Counties. It was named for Walter John Strickland Traill, an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company and son of Canadian pioneer Catharine Parr Traill. The first county building was a small single-story building in Caledonia. Several replacement courthouses were built during the late 19th century and several votes to move the county seat to Mayville narrowly failed. Efforts to move the county seat to Hillsboro were more successful, and all county records were moved there in 1890. Construction of the current county building began in 1905; it is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref>Template:NRISref</ref>
The county boundaries were altered in 1881 and in 1883. It has maintained its current configuration since 1883.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Geography
Traill County lies on the east side of North Dakota. Its east boundary line abuts the west boundary line of the state of Minnesota (across the Red River). The Goose River flows eastward through the center of the county to discharge into the Red. The northward-flowing Red River forms the eastern boundary line of the county on its way to the Hudson Bay, and the Elk River flows south-southeastward through the southwestern part of the county. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, devoted to agriculture.<ref name="TCND">Template:Cite web</ref> The terrain slopes to the east and north, with its highest point on the lower western 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 (0.07%) is water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is the 47th largest county in North Dakota by total area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Major highways
Airports
Adjacent counties
- Grand Forks County - north
- Polk County, Minnesota - northeast
- Norman County, Minnesota - east
- Cass County - south
- Steele County - west
Demographics
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Traill County was $204,706.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 3,316 estimated households in Traill County with an average of 2.27 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $88,289. Approximately 8.4% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Traill County has an estimated 65.9% employment rate, with 31.2% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 93.7% 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 (96.5%), Spanish (2.0%), Indo-European (1.0%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.4%), and Other (0.1%).
The median age in the county was 40.7 years.
Traill 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) | 9,487 (98.58%) |
8,568 (97.90%) |
8,170 (96.38%) |
7,693 (94.73%) |
7,311 (91.42%) |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 6 (0.06%) |
12 (0.14%) |
9 (0.11%) |
39 (0.48%) |
48 (0.60%) |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 24 (0.25%) |
43 (0.49%) |
72 (0.85%) |
63 (0.78%) |
60 (0.75%) |
| Asian alone (NH) | 9 (0.09%) |
22 (0.25%) |
13 (0.15%) |
21 (0.26%) |
18 (0.23%) |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | — | — | 1 (0.01%) |
1 (0.01%) |
4 (0.05%) |
| Other race alone (NH) | 10 (0.10%) |
6 (0.07%) |
0 (0.00%) |
1 (0.01%) |
10 (0.13%) |
| Mixed race or multiracial (NH) | — | — | 27 (0.32%) |
89 (1.10%) |
249 (3.11%) |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 88 (0.91%) |
101 (1.15%) |
185 (2.18%) |
214 (2.64%) |
297 (3.71%) |
| Total | 9,624 (100.00%) |
8,752 (100.00%) |
8,477 (100.00%) |
8,121 (100.00%) |
7,997 (100.00%) |
2024 estimate
As of the 2024 estimate, there were 7,989 people and 3,316 households residing in the county. There were 3,659 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 94.0% White (90.4% NH White), 1.3% African American, 1.8% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.1% of the population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 7,997 people, 3,230 households, and 2,031 families residing in the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 3,649 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 92.66% White, 0.60% African American, 0.93% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.04% from some other races and 4.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.71% of the population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 8,121 people, 3,394 households, and 2,150 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 3,780 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 96.16% White, 0.52% African American, 0.79% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.10% from some other races and 1.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.64% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 53.2% were Norwegian, 38.1% were German, 5.9% were Irish, and 2.6% were American.
There were 3,394 households, 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.7% were non-families, and 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 42.6 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,290 and the median income for a family was $60,054. Males had a median income of $39,846 versus $28,378 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,340. About 4.6% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.
Population by decade
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Communities

Cities
- Buxton
- Clifford
- Galesburg
- Grandin (part)
- Hatton
- Hillsboro (county seat)
- Mayville
- Portland
- Reynolds (part)
Census-designated places
Unincorporated communities
Townships
- Belmont
- Bingham
- Blanchard
- Bloomfield
- Bohnsack
- Buxton
- Caledonia
- Eldorado
- Elm River
- Ervin
- Galesburg
- Garfield
- Greenfield
- Herberg
- Hillsboro
- Kelso
- Lindaas
- Mayville
- Morgan
- Norman
- Norway
- Roseville
- Stavanger
- Viking
- Wold
Politics
Traill County voters lean Republican. In only two national elections since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. In the first of these (1996), in which heavy third-party performance was involved, Democrat Bill Clinton carried the county by a margin of two votes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot
See also
- KVLY-TV mast
- KRDK-TV mast
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Traill County, North Dakota
Notes
External links
- Traill County – official website
- Traill County Economic Development Commission website
- Centennial of Traill County, 1875-1975 from the Digital Horizons website
- Traill County map, North Dakota DOT
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