Bottineau County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,379. Its county seat is Bottineau. The Territorial legislature identified Bottineau as one of the original counties of the territory. on January 4, 1873. Its organization was effected on July 17, 1884. It is named for Pierre Bottineau (c.1814-1895), a Métis pioneer, hunter, and trapper who became a successful land speculator. Bottineau is well known for its winter park, snowmobiling, and ice fishing. It is south of the Canadian borders of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Geography

Bottineau County lies on the north side of North Dakota. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Canada. The Deep River flows south-southeastward through the center part of the county. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds. The terrain slopes to the south, with its highest point on its upper east boundary line, at 2,283 ft ASL. The county has a total area of 1697 sqmi, of which 1668 sqmi is land and 29 sqmi (1.7%) is water. Part of the Turtle Mountain plateau lies in the northeastern corner of the county.

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

Major highways

Protected areas

Lakes

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, there were 6,379 people.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 6,429 people, 2,832 households, and 1,823 families in the county. The population density was 3.9 PD/sqmi. There were 4,341 housing units at an average density of 2.6 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 95.1% white, 2.1% American Indian, 0.4% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 47.0% were Norwegian, 37.4% were German, 7.7% were Irish, 6.2% were Swedish, and 1.4% were American. Of the 2,832 households, 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.6% were non-families, and 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age was 48.0 years. The median income for a household in the county was $40,227 and the median income for a family was $60,714. Males had a median income of $42,227 versus $27,500 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,277. About 9.5% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Politics

Bottineau County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.