Stutsman County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,593, making it the 8th most populous county in North Dakota. Its county seat is Jamestown. The Jamestown, North Dakota Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Stutsman County.

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, with area partitioned from Buffalo and Pembina counties. It was not organized at that time, nor was it attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. It was named for Enos Stutsman, an area lawyer and politician. On June 10 of the same year, the county organization was effected, with Jamestown as the county seat. Its boundaries have not changed since its creation.

Geography

The James River flows south-southeasterly through the east central part of the county. The terrain consists of low rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds in its western portion. The area is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east and south; its highest point is a hill at the southwestern corner, at 1,965 ft ASL. The county has a total area of 2298 sqmi, of which 2222 sqmi is land and 76 sqmi (3.3%) is water. It is the second-largest county in North Dakota by land area and third-largest by total area.

Major highways

Transit

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Lakes

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 21,392 people, 9,084 households, and 5,178 families in the county. The population density was 9.7 PD/sqmi There were 10,374 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 21,100 people, 8,931 households, and 5,255 families in the county. The population density was 9.5 PD/sqmi. There were 9,862 housing units at an average density of 4.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 95.6% white, 1.4% American Indian, 0.7% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.5% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 56.5% were German, 27.6% were Norwegian, 7.2% were Irish, 6.0% were Russian, 5.2% were English, and 2.4% were American. Of the 8,931 households, 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.2% were non-families, and 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.79. The median age was 42.0 years. The median income for a household in the county was $44,620 and the median income for a family was $60,171. Males had a median income of $40,365 versus $27,549 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,307. About 6.3% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 14.6% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Politics

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