Barnes County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,853, and was estimated to be 10,573 in 2025, The county seat and the largest city is Valley City.
History In 1872–1873, the territorial legislature as Burbank County, being named for John A. Burbank (1872–1905), governor of the Dakota Territory from 1869 to 1873. It was renamed at the 1874–1875 session for Judge Alanson H. Barnes (1818–1890), associate justice assigned to the northern half of the territory. Government organized: January 6, 1879. County Seat: Valley City, 1879–present.
Geography
The Sheyenne River flows southerly through the central part of Barnes County. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, carved with drainages, and dotted with lakes and ponds. The area is largely devoted to agriculture.Barnes County ND Google Maps (accessed February 13, 2019) The terrain slopes to the south and east; its highest point is on its upper west boundary line, at ASL.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.44%) is water. It is the 15th largest county in North Dakota by total area.
Major highways
Transit Jefferson Lines
Adjacent counties
Griggs County – north Steele County – northeast Cass County – east Ransom County – southeast LaMoure County – southwest Stutsman County – west
Protected areas
Clausen Springs Recreation Area Clausen Springs State Game Management Area Hobart Lake National Wildlife Refuge Koldak State Game Management Area Riparian Restoration Interpretative Site Stoney Slough National Wildlife Refuge Tomahawk Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Lakes
Lake Ashtabula Eckelson Lake Fox Lake Goose Lake Hobart Lake Island Lake Kee Lake Lake Benson Meadow Lake Moon Lake Mud Lake Round Lake Saint Marys Lake Sanborn Lake Tomahawk Lake
Demographics
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Barnes County was $178,111. As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 4,852 estimated households in Barnes County with an average of 2.09 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $70,230. Approximately 11.5% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Barnes County has an estimated 62.4% employment rate, with 30.0% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 95.3% holding a high school diploma.
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 (97.0%), Spanish (0.7%), Indo-European (1.2%), Asian and Pacific Islander (1.1%), and Other (0.0%). The median age in the county was 42.9 years.
Barnes County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop. 1980 Pop. 1990 Pop. 2000 Pop. 2010 White alone (NH) 13,846(99.18%) 12,389(98.76%) 11,477(97.47%) 10,599(95.78%) 9,964(91.81%) Black or African American alone (NH) 17(0.12%) 27(0.22%) 53(0.45%) 83(0.75%) 177(1.63%) Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 47(0.34%) 57(0.45%) 90(0.76%) 71(0.64%) 92(0.85%) Asian alone (NH) 19(0.14%) 38(0.30%) 22(0.19%) 58(0.52%) 69(0.64%) Pacific Islander alone (NH) — — 0(0.00%) 1(0.01%) 2(0.02%) Other race alone (NH) 3(0.02%) 0(0.00%) 2(0.02%) 1(0.01%) 24(0.22%) Mixed race or multiracial (NH) — — 67(0.57%) 130(1.17%) 340(3.13%) Hispanic or Latino (any race) 28(0.20%) 34(0.27%) 64(0.54%) 123(1.11%) 185(1.70%) Total 13,960(100.00%) 12,545(100.00%) 11,775(100.00%) 11,066(100.00%) 10,853(100.00%)
2024 estimate As of the 2024 estimate, there were 10,798 people and 4,852 households residing in the county. There were 5,719 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.5% White (91.1% NH White), 2.2% African American, 1.7% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.1% of the population.
2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 10,853 people, 4,772 households, and 2,751 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 5,671 housing units at an average density of , of which 15.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 68.0% were owner-occupied and 32.0% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.8%.
Of the residents, 19.5% were under the age of 18 and 22.9% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 43.9 years. For every 100 females there were 102.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 103.0 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 92.4% White, 1.7% Black or African American, 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, 0.7% from some other race, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.7% of the population.
Of the 4,772 households, 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 23.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
2010 census As of the 2010 census, there were 11,066 people, 4,826 households, and 2,927 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 5,704 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.40% White, 0.78% African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from some other races and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.11% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 48.4% were German, 37.2% were Norwegian, 8.3% were Irish, 5.2% were English, and 2.7% were American.
Of the 4,826 households, 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.3% were non-families, and 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.79. The median age was 44.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,773 and the median income for a family was $59,558. Males had a median income of $42,575 versus $30,361 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,152. About 6.4% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.6% of those under age 18 and 14.6% of those age 65 or over.
Population by decade
Communities Cities
Dazey Fingal Kathryn Leal Litchville Nome Oriska Pillsbury Rogers Sanborn Sibley Tower City (part) Valley City (county seat) Wimbledon
Unincorporated communities
Berea Eastedge Eckelson Hastings Koldok Lucca
Townships
Alta Anderson Ashtabula Baldwin Binghampton Brimer Cuba Dazey Eckelson Edna Ellsbury Getchell Grand Prairie Green Greenland Hemen Hobart Lake Town Mansfield Marsh Meadow Lake Minnie Lake Nelson Noltimier Norma Oakhill Oriska Pierce Potter Raritan Rogers Rosebud Sibley Trail Skandia Spring Creek Springvale Stewart Svea Thordenskjold Uxbridge Valley Weimer
Notable people Frank White, eighth governor of North Dakota and treasurer of the United States Peggy Lee, singer & actress Earl Pomeroy, U.S. Congressman Morley Nelson, conservationist
Politics Like North Dakota as a whole, Barnes County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In only one national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic County candidate.
Education School districts: - Text list - 2010 map and 2010 text list Barnes County North Public School District 7 Enderlin Area Public School District 24 Griggs County Central School District 18 Hope-Page Public Schools Litchville-Marion School District Maple Valley Public School District Montpelier Public School District 14 Valley City Public School District
Former districts: Hope Public School District 10 - Consolidated with Page district in 2020 - Check the 2020-2021 spreadsheet, which lists a single "Hope Page" school district, and compare with all previous sheets which show them as two separate school districts. Oriska School District - Consolidated into Maple Valley in 2003 - Clipping from Newspapers.com. Page Public School District 80 - Consolidated with Hope district in 2020
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Barnes County, North Dakota
References
External links Barnes County – official website Barnes County maps, Sheet 1 (southern) and Sheet 2 (northern), North Dakota DOT