Cass County, North Dakota Explained

County:Cass County
State:North Dakota
Founded Year:1873
Seat Wl:Fargo
Largest City Wl:Fargo
Area Total Sq Mi:1768
Area Land Sq Mi:1765
Area Water Sq Mi:3.0
Area Percentage:0.2
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:184525
Pop Est As Of:2023
Population Est:196362
Population Density Sq Mi:auto
Time Zone:Central
Web:https://www.casscountynd.gov
Ex Image:Cass County Courthouse, Left Side.jpg
Ex Image Cap:Cass County Courthouse in Fargo
District:At-large
Named For:George Washington Cass

Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 184,525.[1] Cass County is the most populous county in North Dakota, accounting for nearly 24% of the state's population.[2] [3] The county seat is Fargo,[4] the state's most populous city. The county is named for George Washington Cass, president of the Northern Pacific Railway from 1872 to 1875. It is the only Cass County in the United States that is not named after Lewis Cass.

Cass County is part of the Fargo, ND-Moorhead, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Cass County was defined by action of the Dakota Territory legislature on January 4, 1873, and its organization was effected on October 27 of that year. It was named for railroad executive George Washington Cass (1810–1888).[5] Its boundaries were altered in 1875, and in 1961.[6] [7]

Geography

Cass County lies on the east side of North Dakota. Its east boundary line abuts the west boundary line of the state of Minnesota across the river. The Red River flows northward along the county's east boundary, on its way to Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay. The county's terrain consists of low rolling hills, devoted to agriculture except around developed areas.[8] Its terrain slopes to the north and east, with its highest point on the southwestern corner at 1194feet ASL.[9] The county has a total area of, of which is land and (0.2%) is water.[10]

Major highways

Transit

Adjacent counties

Lakes

Cass County has the following lakes:[8]

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 184,525 people, 78,672 households, and 42,849 families in the county.[11] The population density was 104.6sp=usNaNsp=us There were 85,397 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 149,778 people, 63,899 households, and 35,215 families in the county. The population density was . There were 67,938 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 91.7% white, 2.4% Asian, 2.3% black or African American, 1.2% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 45.4% were German, 35.8% were Norwegian, 9.2% were Irish, 6.3% were Swedish, and 1.7% were American.

Of the 63,899 households, 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 44.9% were non-families, and 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 31.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,600 and the median income for a family was $68,858. Males had a median income of $42,557 versus $31,916 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,184. About 5.8% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

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BarData= bar:1880 text:1880 bar:1890 text:1890 bar:1900 text:1900 bar:1910 text:1910 bar:1920 text:1920 bar:1930 text:1930 bar:1940 text:1940 bar:1950 text:1950 bar:1960 text:1960 bar:1970 text:1970 bar:1980 text:1980 bar:1990 text:1990 bar:2000 text:2000 bar:2010 text:2010 bar:2020 text:2020 bar:2023 text:present

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bar:1880 from: 0 till:8998 bar:1890 from: 0 till:19613 bar:1900 from: 0 till:28625 bar:1910 from: 0 till:33935 bar:1920 from: 0 till:41477 bar:1930 from: 0 till:48735 bar:1940 from: 0 till:52849 bar:1950 from: 0 till:58877 bar:1960 from: 0 till:66947 bar:1970 from: 0 till:73653 bar:1980 from: 0 till:88247 bar:1990 from: 0 till:102874 bar:2000 from: 0 till:123138 bar:2010 from: 0 till:149778 bar:2020 from: 0 till:184525 bar:2023 from: 0 till:196362 color:darkblue

PlotData=

bar:1880 at:8998 fontsize:M text: 8,998 shift:(-14,5) bar:1890 at:19613 fontsize:M text: 19,613 shift:(-14,5) bar:1900 at:28625 fontsize:M text: 28,625 shift:(-14,5) bar:1910 at:33935 fontsize:M text: 33,935 shift:(-14,5) bar:1920 at:41477 fontsize:M text: 41,477 shift:(-14,5) bar:1930 at:48735 fontsize:M text: 48,735 shift:(-14,5) bar:1940 at:52849 fontsize:M text: 52,849 shift:(-14,5) bar:1950 at:58877 fontsize:M text: 58,877 shift:(-14,5) bar:1960 at:66947 fontsize:M text: 66,947 shift:(-15,5) bar:1970 at:73653 fontsize:M text: 73,653 shift:(-15,5) bar:1980 at:88247 fontsize:M text: 88,247 shift:(-15,5) bar:1990 at:102874 fontsize:M text: 102,874 shift:(-20,5) bar:2000 at:123138 fontsize:M text: 123,138 shift:(-20,5) bar:2010 at:149778 fontsize:M text: 149,778 shift:(-20,5) bar:2020 at:184525 fontsize:M text: 184,525 shift:(-20,5) bar:2023 at:196362 fontsize:M text: 196,362 shift:(-20,5)

TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau

Government

Cass County is governed by a board of commissioners elected to four-year terms. Other elected officials include the sheriff and state's attorney. Appointed officials include administrator, extension agent, director of tax equalization, finance auditor, highway engineer, human services officer, information technology coordinator, recorder, veterans service officer, and weed control officer.

DistrictCommissioner In office sinceCurrent term expires in
1st Chad Peterson (Chair) 2012 2020
2nd Rick Steen (vice chair) 2014 2022
3rd Ken Pawluk 2019 2020
4th Duane Breitling 2018 2022
5th Mary Scherling 2012 2020

The current Sheriff is Jesse F. Jahner. Jahner has served as Sheriff of Cass County since January 2, 2019.

The voters of Cass County have historically tended to vote Republican. As recently as the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush carried Cass County with nearly 60 percent of the vote. However, in recent elections, the county has become more politically diverse and competitive, particularly in Fargo. Since 2008, no Republican presidential candidate has received over 50% of the vote in Cass County, though they have been over 49% beginning in 2012. In 2008, Democratic candidate Barack Obama won the majority of votes in Cass County, with a voting percentage very close to the percentage Obama received in the entire nation, while John McCain won the majority of votes in North Dakota. Mitt Romney's winning margin in 2012 over Obama in Cass County was 49.9% to 47%, while Donald Trump received 49.3% of votes in 2016, compared to 38.8% for Hillary Clinton and 11.9% for third-party candidates. In 2018, Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp achieved a 14-point lead in Eastern North Dakota, although the state as a whole soundly elected Republican Kevin Cramer.

In the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, Fargo falls into 9 districts: 10th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 27th, 41st and 44th-46th. In the House, it's represented by 7 Democrats and 11 Republicans, in Senate by 4 Democrats and 5 Republicans.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Education

School districts include:[12]

K-12:

Elementary:

Former districts:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: State & County QuickFacts . United States Census Bureau . March 18, 2024.
  2. Based on the 2020 Census: 184,525 / 779,094 (ND pop.) = 23.7%
  3. Web site: Top 100 Counties by Growth, 2017. United States Census Bureau. December 3, 2018.
  4. Web site: Find a County. June 7, 2011. National Association of Counties. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. May 31, 2011.
  5. Book: The Origin of Certain Place Names in the US. Govt. Print. Off.. Gannett, Henry. 1905. 71.
  6. Web site: Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies. Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2006. February 2, 2015. April 2, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180402202102/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/DAKs_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm. dead.
  7. Web site: County History. North Dakota.gov. The State of North Dakota. February 2, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150202151843/http://www.nd.gov/content.htm?parentCatID=83&id=County%20History. February 2, 2015. dead.
  8. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cass+County,+ND/@46.9347721,-97.5098975,90402m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x52cf38dfa9e91789:0xf1727915f1a423e7!8m2!3d47.071168!4d-97.1215579 Cass County ND Google Maps (accessed February 16, 2019)
  9. Web site: "Find an Altitude/Cass County ND" Google Maps (accessed February 16, 2019) . February 17, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190521043409/https://www.daftlogic.com/sandbox-google-maps-find-altitude.htm . May 21, 2019 . dead .
  10. Web site: August 22, 2012 . 2010 Census Gazetteer Files . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150129045530/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_38.txt . January 29, 2015 . January 28, 2015 . . United States Census Bureau.
  11. Web site: US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type . March 18, 2024 . United States Census Bureau.
  12. Web site: 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Cass County, ND. https://web.archive.org/web/20210815055339/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st38_nd/schooldistrict_maps/c38017_cass/DC20SD_C38017.pdf . August 15, 2021 . live. United States Census Bureau. July 24, 2022. - Text list - 2010 map and 2010 text list - Hope-Page formed in 2020, but both the 2010 and 2020 maps show Page as a separate district
  13. Web site: Enrollment History Public School Districts 2009-2021. North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. August 19, 2021. - 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.