Dickey County, North Dakota

Dickey County
Dickey County
County
	Postcard of Dickey County Courthouse in 1915
	Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
	North Dakota's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 46°06′28″N 98°29′47″W / 46.107756°N 98.496518°W
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Founded	March 5, 1881 (created); August 18, 1882 (organized)
Named after	George H. Dickey
Seat	Ellendale
Largest city	Oakes
Area
• Total	1,142.157 sq mi (2,958.17 km2)
• Land	1,131.493 sq mi (2,930.55 km2)
• Water	10.664 sq mi (27.62 km2) 0.93%
Population (2020)
• Total	4,999
• Estimate (2024)	4,930
• Density	4.356/sq mi (1.682/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	701
Congressional district	At-large
Website	dickeynd.com

Dickey County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,999^[1] and was estimated to be 4,930 in 2024.^[2] The county seat is Ellendale and the largest city is Oakes.^[3]

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created Dickey County on March 5, 1881, with territories annexed from McPherson County, South Dakota; and Ransom County, North Dakota with some previously unorganized territories added. It was organized on August 18, 1882. It was named for a member of the Territorial Legislature, George H. Dickey.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Geography

Dickey County lies on the south side of North Dakota. Its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of the state of South Dakota. The James River flows south-southeasterly through the east part of the county, and the Maple River flows south-southeasterly through the center part of the county. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds in its western portion, with the area devoted to agriculture.^[7] The terrain slopes to the south and east, with its highest point being a hill near the southwestern corner at 2,139 ft (652 m) ASL.^[8]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,142.157 square miles (2,958.17 km²), of which 1,131.493 square miles (2,930.55 km²) is land and 10.664 square miles (27.62 km²) (0.93%) is water.^[9] It is the 31st largest county in North Dakota by total area.^[10]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

LaMoure County - north
Ransom County - northeast
Sargent County - east
Brown County, South Dakota - south
McPherson County, South Dakota - southwest
McIntosh County - west

National protected areas

Lakes

Source:^[7]

Hilles Lake
Pheasant Lake

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	5,573		—
1900	6,061		8.8%
1910	9,839		62.3%
1920	10,499		6.7%
1930	10,877		3.6%
1940	9,696		−10.9%
1950	9,121		−5.9%
1960	8,147		−10.7%
1970	6,976		−14.4%
1980	7,207		3.3%
1990	6,107		−15.3%
2000	5,757		−5.7%
2010	5,289		−8.1%
2020	4,999		−5.5%
2024 (est.)	4,930	^[11]	−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census^[12] 1790–1960^[13] 1900–1990^[14] 1990–2000^[15] 2010–2020^[2]

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Dickey County was $177,052.^[16] As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 1,953 estimated households in Dickey County with an average of 2.37 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $63,125. Approximately 11.5% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Dickey County has an estimated 66.1% employment rate, with 27.1% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 91.4% holding a high school diploma.^[2]

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 (94.5%), Spanish (1.9%), Indo-European (2.9%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.6%), and Other (0.0%). The median age in the county was 38.6 years.

Dickey County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic)	Pop. 1980^[17]	Pop. 1990^[18]	Pop. 2000^[19]	Pop. 2010^[20]	Pop. 2020^[21]
White alone (NH)	7,134 (98.99%)	6,032 (98.77%)	5,584 (96.99%)	5,044 (95.37%)	4,572 (91.46%)
Black or African American alone (NH)	1 (0.01%)	8 (0.13%)	6 (0.10%)	35 (0.66%)	19 (0.38%)
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	11 (0.15%)	21 (0.34%)	20 (0.35%)	30 (0.57%)	26 (0.52%)
Asian alone (NH)	27 (0.37%)	13 (0.21%)	29 (0.50%)	22 (0.42%)	27 (0.54%)
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	—	—	0 (0.00%)	1 (0.02%)	0 (0.00%)
Other race alone (NH)	12 (0.17%)	0 (0.00%)	1 (0.02%)	1 (0.02%)	17 (0.34%)
Mixed race or multiracial (NH)	—	—	39 (0.68%)	56 (1.06%)	139 (2.78%)
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	22 (0.31%)	33 (0.54%)	78 (1.35%)	100 (1.89%)	199 (3.98%)
Total	7,207 (100.00%)	6,107 (100.00%)	5,757 (100.00%)	5,289 (100.00%)	4,999 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 4,930 people and 1,953 households residing in the county. There were 2,392 housing units at an average density of 2.11 per square mile (0.8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.7% White (91.5% NH White), 0.8% African American, 1.4% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.2% of the population.^[22]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 4,999 people, 1,985 households, and 1,249 families residing in the county.^[23] The population density was 4.4 inhabitants per square mile (1.7/km²). There were 2,383 housing units at an average density of 2.11 per square mile (0.8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.58% White, 0.56% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 1.56% from some other races and 4.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.98% of the population.^[24]

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 5,289 people, 2,180 households, and 1,379 families residing in the county. The population density was 4.7 inhabitants per square mile (1.8/km²). There were 2,636 housing units at an average density of 2.33 per square mile (0.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.50% White, 0.70% African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from some other races and 1.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.89% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 56.3% were German, 16.9% were Norwegian, 11.4% were Irish, 7.4% were Swedish, 5.1% were Russian, and 1.1% were American.

Of 2,180 households in the county, 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.7% were non-families, and 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 43.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,179 and the median income for a family was $53,333. Males had a median income of $36,029 versus $25,625 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,824. About 6.8% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 18.2% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities