Billings County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 945, and was estimated to be 1,063 in 2024, making it the second-least populous county in North Dakota. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and only incorporated place is Medora. The Territorial legislature authorized Billings County on February 10, 1879, naming it for

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

president Frederick H. Billings. It was organized on May 4, 1886. The original county boundary was significantly altered since its creation, by actions in 1883, 1885, 1887, 1896, 1901 and 1904. Its most significant alterations came in 1907 ( Bowman County partitioned off), 1912 ( Golden Valley County partitioned off), and 1914 ( Slope County partitioned off).

Geography

The Little Missouri River flows northward through the western portion of the county. Bullion Creek flows eastward into the southwestern corner of the county to discharge into the Little Missouri River. Billings County terrain consists of rugged semi-arid hills in its western portion, giving way to more level ground in the east. The terrain slopes to the east and south, with its highest terrain along its west boundary line, at ASL. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.40%) is water. It is the 28th largest county in North Dakota by total area. The South Unit of

Theodore Roosevelt National Park Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the badlands of western North Dakota comprising three geographically separated areas. This park pays homage to the time that ...

lies in the central part of the county, just north of Medora.

Major highways

* Interstate 94 * U.S. Highway 85

Adjacent counties

* McKenzie County – north * Dunn County – northeast * Stark County – east * Slope County – south * Golden Valley County – west

Protected areas

Little Missouri National Grassland Little Missouri National Grassland is a National Grassland located in western North Dakota, United States. At , it is the largest grassland in the country. Enclaved within its borders is Theodore Roosevelt National Park with an additional , whic ...

(part) * Rough Rider State Park *

(South Unit)

Demographics

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Billings County was $341,706. As of the 2023

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, there are 372 estimated households in Billings County with an average of 2.49 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $81,250. Approximately 10.5% of the county's population lives at or below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. Billings County has an estimated 62.1% employment rate, with 32.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 94.6% 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 (97.9%), Spanish (0.3%), Indo-European (1.8%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.0%), and Other (0.0%). The median age in the county was 44.7 years. Billings County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition

2023 estimate

As of the 2023 estimate, there were 1,034 people and 372 households residing in the county. There were 609 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.9% White ''(91.9% NH White)'', 1.4% African American, 0.9% Native American, 3.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 0.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.8% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 945 people, 406 households, and 271 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 567 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.40%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.42%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.53% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.00%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.00% from some other races and 2.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.33% of the population.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 783 people, 358 households, and 223 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 484 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.60%

, 0.26%

, 0.38% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.00%

, 0.13% from some other races and 0.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.51% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 40.6% were German, 19.1% were Ukrainian, 17.7% were Norwegian, 9.3% were Irish, 7.4% were Russian, 5.0% were English, and 0.9% were American. There were 358 households, 19.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% were married couples living together, 1.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.7% were non-families, and 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age was 48.6 years. The median income for a household in the county was $51,923 and the median income for a family was $61,250. Males had a median income of $46,806 versus $31,250 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,666. About 6.8% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the

, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

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Politics

Billings County voters have been traditionally Republican. In each of the last seven elections (as of 2024) the Republican candidate has received over seventy percent of the county's vote. However, it has some third party or independent interest. Billings county gave

Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot ( ; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an Independent politician ...

over twenty percent of the vote in his 1992 and 1996 campaigns. It gave

Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan ( ; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative author, political commentator, and politician. He was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. He ...

approximately six percent when he ran as the Reform Party's candidate in 2000.

Recreation

The Bully Pulpit Golf Course is located three miles south of Medora and the Maah Daah Hey Trail single track non-motorized trail starts 30 miles south of Medora.

Communities

City

* Medora (county seat)

Unorganized Territories

There are no townships in Billings County, but the

divides the county into two unorganized territories: * North Billings, which consists of all of the county north of I-94, had a population of 566 at the 2020 census. * South Billings, which consists of all of the county south of I-94 outside Medora, had a population of 258 at the 2020 Census.

Unincorporated communities

* Fairfield * Gorham * Fryburg * Sully Springs

Notes

References

External links

Billings County map
''North Dakota DOT''
Billings County – official website
{{Authority control Dickinson, North Dakota micropolitan area 1886 establishments in Dakota Territory Populated places established in 1886