Burleigh County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 98,458, and was estimated to be 103,251 in 2025, making it the second-most populous county in North Dakota. The county seat and the largest city is Bismarck, the state capital and second-largest city in North Dakota. The county was named for Dakota Territory political figure Walter A. Burleigh.
Burleigh County is included in the Bismarck metropolitan area.
History Burleigh County was created on January 4, 1873, by the Dakota Territory legislature, annexing territory from Buffalo County. Burleigh was not organized at the time, but the organization began on July 16, 1873. Its boundaries were altered in 1879, 1881, 1883, and twice in 1885.
Geography The Missouri River flows south-southeasterly along the lower west boundary line of Burleigh County. The central part of the county is drained by south-flowing creeks. The county terrain consists of semi-arid low rolling hills, partially devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the south, and its western portion also slopes to the river valley. The terrain's highest point is on the upper portion of the east boundary line, at ASL.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.14%) is water. It is the 13th largest county in North Dakota by total area.
Major highways
Transit Bis-Man Transit (Capital Area Transit) Jefferson Lines
Adjacent counties
Sheridan County – north Kidder County – east Emmons County – south Morton County – southwest Oliver County – west McLean County – northwest
Protected areas
Arena State Game Management Area Bunker Lake State Game Management Area Canfield Lake National Wildlife Refuge Florence Lake National Wildlife Refuge Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge (part) Sibley Nature Park Wilton Mine State Game Management Area (part)
Lakes
Bunce Lake Bunker Lake Clear Lake Florence Lake Grass Lake Harriet Lake Horseshoe Lake Lonetree Lake Long Lake Mitchell Lake New Johns Lake (part) O'Brien Lake Pelican Lake Rice Lake
Demographics
As of the third quarter of 2025, the median home value in Burleigh County was $338,255.
As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there are 42,881 estimated households in Burleigh County with an average of 2.31 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $88,701. Approximately 7.5% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Burleigh County has an estimated 66.7% employment rate, with 42.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 94.8% holding a high school diploma. There were 44,541 housing units at an average density of .
The median age in the county was 39.7 years.
+Burleigh County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop. 1980 Pop. 1990 Pop. 2000 Pop. 2010 Pop. 2024 White alone (NH) 53,249(97.15%) 57,919(96.32%) 65,686(94.63%) 75,054(92.31%) 84,349(85.67%) 88,204(85.55%) Black or African American alone (NH) 46(0.08%) 66(0.11%) 166(0.24%) 476(0.59%) 2,227(2.26%) 2,446(2.37%) Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 1,028(1.88%) 1,552(2.58%) 2,236(3.22%) 3,284(4.04%) 4,053(4.12%) 4,402(4.27%) Asian alone (NH) 193(0.35%) 214(0.36%) 271(0.39%) 386(0.47%) 1,043(1.06%) 1,284(1.25%) Pacific Islander alone (NH) — — 18(0.03%) 26(0.03%) 316(0.32%) 1,040(1.01%) Other race alone (NH) 92(0.17%) 19(0.03%) 21(0.03%) 54(0.07%) 210(0.21%) — Mixed race or multiracial (NH) — — 550(0.79%) 1,042(1.28%) 3,176(3.23%) 2,090(2.03%) Hispanic or Latino (any race) 203(0.37%) 361(0.60%) 468(0.67%) 986(1.21%) 3,084(3.13%) 3,641(3.53%) Total 54,811(100.00%) 60,131(100.00%) 69,416(100.00%) 81,308(100.00%) 98,458(100.00%) 103,251(100.00%)
2024 estimate As of the 2024 estimate, there were 103,107 people, 42,881 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 44,541 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 88.06% White, 2.51% African American, 4.88% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 1.05% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.53% of the population.
2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 98,458 people, 39,927 households, and 24,822 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 42,692 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 86.48% White, 2.32% African American, 4.32% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.32% Pacific Islander, 1.13% from some other races and 4.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.13% of the population.
There were 39,927 households in the county, of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 24.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. Among occupied housing units, 69.0% were owner-occupied and 31.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.0%.
Of the residents, 23.2% were under the age of 18 and 16.8% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 37.6 years. For every 100 females there were 99.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.8 males.
2010 census As of the 2010 census, there were 81,308 people, 33,976 households, and 21,213 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 35,754 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.02% White, 0.59% African American, 4.17% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from some other races and 1.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.21% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 61.0% were German, 21.1% were Norwegian, 8.1% were Russian, 6.8% were Irish, and 2.6% were American.
There were 33,976 households, 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.6% were non-families, and 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 37.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $53,465 and the median income for a family was $71,103. Males had a median income of $44,944 versus $31,943 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,784. About 6.3% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.
Population by decade
Communities Cities
Bismarck (county seat) Lincoln Regan Wilton (partly in McLean County) Wing
Census-designated places
Apple Valley Driscoll Menoken
Unincorporated communities
Arena Baldwin McKenzie Moffit Sterling Wogansport
Townships
Apple Creek Boyd Canfield Christiania Clear Lake Crofte Cromwell Driscoll Ecklund Estherville Francis Ghylin Gibbs Glenview Grass Lake Harriet-Lein Hazel Grove Hay Creek Logan Long Lake McKenzie Menoken Missouri Morton Naughton Painted Woods Richmond Rock Hill Schrunk-Steiber Sibley Butte Sterling Taft Telfer Thelma Trygg Wild Rose Wilson Wing
Unorganized territories
Burnt Creek-Riverview Florence Lake Lincoln-Fort Rice Lyman Phoenix
Politics Burleigh County voters have voted Republican for several decades. With the exception of 1964, no Democratic Party candidate has received even 40 percent of the county's vote after 1940.
Education School districts include: - Text list
K-12:
Bismarck Public Schools, District 1, Bismarck Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock Public School, District 6, Hazelton Kidder County School, District 1, Steele McClusky School District, District 19, McClusky Wilton School District, District 1, Wilton - Formerly known as the Montefiore Public School District 1 - Text list Wing School District, District 28, Wing
Elementary:
Apple Creek Public School, District 39, Apple Creek Manning Public School, District 45, Manning Menoken Public School, District 33, Menoken Naughton Public School, District 25, Naughton Sterling Public School, District 35, Sterling
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Burleigh County, North Dakota
References
External links Burleigh County – official website A brief history of Burleigh County : with a chronology of some of the county's earlier days (1932) from the Digital Horizons website A brief history of Burleigh County : with a chronology of some of the outstanding events of the county's earlier days (1932) from the Digital Horizons website Burleigh County maps, Sheet 1 (northern) and Sheet 2 (southern), North Dakota DOT