| County: | Stark County |
| State: | North Dakota |
| Founded: | February 10, 1879 (created) May 25, 1883 (organized) |
| Seat Wl: | Dickinson |
| Largest City Wl: | Dickinson |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 1340 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 1335 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 5.5 |
| Area Percentage: | 0.4 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 33646 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Est: | 33001 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Time Zone: | Mountain |
| Web: | https://www.starkcountynd.gov/ |
| Ex Image: | DickinsonND StarkCountyCourthouse.jpg |
| Named For: | George Stark |
| Ex Image Cap: | Stark County Courthouse in Dickinson |
| District: | At-large |
Stark County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,646, making it the 7th most populous county in North Dakota.[1] Its county seat is Dickinson.[2]
Stark County is part of the Dickinson, ND Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on February 10, 1879, taking area from now-extinct Howard and Williams counties and some previously unincorporated territory. It was named for George Stark, a vice president of the Northern Pacific Railroad.[3] The county organization was not completed at that time, but the new county was not attached to another county for administrative and judicial purposes. The county lost a portion of its area when Hettinger County was created on March 9, 1883. On May 25, 1883, the Stark County organization was effected.
The county boundaries were altered in February and in March 1887. The county was slightly enlarged on January 18, 1908, by a small strip of land (due to a redefinition of county boundary lines), giving Stark County its present boundary lines.[4] [5] [6]
The south branch of the Heart River flows through the central part of Stark County, discharging into Patterson Lake at Dickinson, then flowing east-southeasterly into adjacent Morton County. The county terrain consists of semi-arid rolling hills, mostly devoted to agriculture.[7] The terrain slopes to the east, with its highest point near its SW corner, at 2831feet ASL.[8] The county has a total area of, of which is land and (0.4%) is water.[9]
The southwestern counties of North Dakota (Adams, Billings, Bowman, Golden Valley, Grant, Hettinger, Slope, Stark) observe Mountain Time. The counties of McKenzie, Dunn, and Sioux counties are split.
As of the 2020 census, there were 33,646 people, 13,561 households, and 8,394 families in the county.[10] The population density was 25.2sp=usNaNsp=us There were 15,381 housing units.
As of the 2010 census, there were 24,199 people, 10,085 households, and 6,167 families in the county. The population density was . There were 10,735 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.2% white, 1.2% Asian, 1.0% American Indian, 0.8% black or African American, 0.5% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 59.0% were German, 14.7% were Norwegian, 7.7% were Russian, 7.7% were Irish, 7.3% were Czech, 5.4% were English, and 3.5% were American.
Of the 10,085 households, 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.8% were non-families, and 30.9% 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 38.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $49,536 and the median income for a family was $62,560. Males had a median income of $42,338 versus $26,451 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,282. About 5.9% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.
ImageSize = width:700 height:350PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30DateFormat = x.yPeriod = from:0 till:34000TimeAxis = orientation:verticalAlignBars = lateScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:8500 start:0ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:4250 start:0BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo
BarData= 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
PlotData= color:barra width:25 align:left
bar:1890 from: 0 till:2304 bar:1900 from: 0 till:7621 bar:1910 from: 0 till:12504 bar:1920 from: 0 till:13542 bar:1930 from: 0 till:15340 bar:1940 from: 0 till:15414 bar:1950 from: 0 till:16137 bar:1960 from: 0 till:18451 bar:1970 from: 0 till:19613 bar:1980 from: 0 till:23697 bar:1990 from: 0 till:22832 bar:2000 from: 0 till:22636 bar:2010 from: 0 till:24199 bar:2020 from: 0 till:33646 bar:2023 from: 0 till:33001 color:darkblue
PlotData=
bar:1890 at:2304 fontsize:M text:2304 shift:(-14,5) bar:1900 at:7621 fontsize:M text:7621 shift:(-14,5) bar:1910 at:12504 fontsize:M text:12504 shift:(-14,5) bar:1920 at:13542 fontsize:M text:13542 shift:(-14,5) bar:1930 at:15340 fontsize:M text:15340 shift:(-14,5) bar:1940 at:15414 fontsize:M text:15414 shift:(-14,5) bar:1950 at:16137 fontsize:M text:16137 shift:(-14,5) bar:1960 at:18451 fontsize:M text:18451 shift:(-14,5) bar:1970 at:19613 fontsize:M text:19613 shift:(-14,5) bar:1980 at:23697 fontsize:M text:23697 shift:(-14,5) bar:1990 at:22832 fontsize:M text:22832 shift:(-14,5) bar:2000 at:22636 fontsize:M text:22636 shift:(-14,5) bar:2010 at:24199 fontsize:M text:24199 shift:(-14,5) bar:2020 at:33646 fontsize:M text:33646 shift:(-14,5) bar:2023 at:33001 fontsize:M text:33001 shift:(-14,5)
TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau
There are no townships in Stark County, but the United States Census Bureau divides the county into four unorganized territories:
Stark County voters have tended to vote Republican for decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020). Despite its rapid population growth due to a massive oil boom, Stark County has swung right faster than almost any county, with oil-friendly Republican candidate Donald Trump collapsing Democratic support in 2016 by almost 10% and increasing Republican margins to 79%, the highest since Eisenhower in 1952. While Joe Biden managed to stop a three-election slide in percentage in 2020, Trump further increased his percentage to 80%, the highest since 1920.