Grand Forks 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 73,170, and was estimated to be 73,771 in 2024, making it the third-most 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 the largest city is Grand Forks.

History

Using territory annexed from Pembina County, the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

legislature created Grand Forks County on January 4, 1873. Its governing structure was not established at that time, nor was the territory attached to another county for administrative and judicial purposes. The government was organized on March 2, 1875. The county's boundaries were altered in 1875, 1881, and 1883. It has retained its present boundary since 1883. Grand Forks County is included in the Greater Grand Forks (officially the Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area).

Geography

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 (0.22%) is water. It is the 17th largest county in North Dakota by total area. Grand Forks County lies on the east side of North Dakota. Its eastern boundary line abuts the west boundary line of the state of

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

(across the Red River). The Red River flows northward along the county's east border, on its way to

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...

and

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

. The Forest River flows eastward and northward across the upper western part of the county. The terrain of Grand Forks County consists of low rolling hills, devoted to agriculture except around urban areas. The terrain slopes to the north and east; its highest point is a hill at its southwestern corner, at ASL. The

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

has established a Field Biology Station on Forest River, at the county's northern border. In 2013 it partnered with ND Game & Fish Department to establish a wildlife management area at the station, to monitor whitetail deer activity in the forest. The field station is tasked with identifying plants native and endemic to the area. A total of 498 plants have been collected at the Forest River Biology Station and Wildlife Management Area.

Major highways

* Interstate 29 * U.S. Highway 2 * U.S. Highway 81 *

North Dakota Highway 15 North Dakota Highway 15 (ND 15) is a east–west state highway in central North Dakota. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 52 (US 52) in Fessenden and the eastern terminus is at Interstate 29 (I-29) and US 81 near Thomps ...

* North Dakota Highway 18 * North Dakota Highway 32

Transit

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great North ...

'' ('' Grand Forks station'') * Cities Area Transit *

Jefferson Lines Jefferson Lines (JL or JLI) is a regional intercity bus company operating in 14 states in the Midwest and the West of the United States. History The company is operated by Jefferson Partners L.P., located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jefferson P ...

Adjacent counties

* Walsh County - north *

Marshall County, Minnesota Marshall County is a County (United States), county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 9,040. Its county seat is Warren, Minnesota, Warren. History The ...

- northeast * Polk County, Minnesota - east * Traill County - southeast * Steele County - southwest * Nelson County - west

Protected areas

Source: * Forest River Biology Station/Wildlife Management Area * Grand Forks County Larimore Dam Recreation Area * Kellys Slough National Wildlife Refuge * Little Goose National Wildlife Refuge * Prairie Chicken State Game Management Area * Turtle River State Park

Lakes

Source: * Fordville Dam * Larimore Dam * Smith Lakes

Demographics

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Grand Forks County was $276,879. 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 31,045 estimated households in Grand Forks County with an average of 2.20 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $68,450. Approximately 12.5% 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 ...

. Grand Forks County has an estimated 68.7% employment rate, with 37.2% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 95.7% holding a high school diploma. The median age in the county was 30.8 years. Grand Forks County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 73,771 people and 31,045 households residing in the county. There were 34,140 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 86.9% White ''(82.5% NH White)'', 4.3% African American, 2.9% Native American, 2.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.7% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 73,170 people, 30,658 households, and 16,186 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 33,428 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 82.08%

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 ...

, 4.19%

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 ...

, 2.47% Native American, 3.41% Asian, 0.08%

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 ...

, 1.37% from some other races and 6.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.00% of the population.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 66,861 people, 27,417 households, and 15,215 families in the county. The population density was . There were 29,344 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.27%

, 2.04%

, 2.48% Native American, 1.93% Asian, 0.06%

, 0.83% from some other races and 2.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.92% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 34.1% were German, 33.8% were Norwegian, 9.5% were Irish, 5.8% were Polish, 5.3% were English, and 2.9% were American. Of the 27,417 households, 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 44.5% were non-families, and 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age was 29.7 years. The median income for a household in the county was $44,242 and the median income for a family was $65,804. Males had a median income of $40,622 versus $31,633 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,276. About 8.2% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the

, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

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Communities

Cities

* Emerado * Gilby * Grand Forks (county seat) * Inkster * Larimore * Manvel * Niagara * Northwood * Reynolds (part) * Thompson

Census-designated places

* Grand Forks AFB

Other communities

Source: * Arvilla * Emerado * Forest River Colony * Hannah Junction * Johnstown * Kelly * Kempton * Logan Center * McCanna * Mekinock

Townships

* Agnes * Allendale * Americus * Arvilla * Avon * Bentru * Blooming * Brenna *

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

* Elkmount * Elm Grove * Fairfield * Falconer *

Ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

* Gilby *

Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...

* Grand Forks * Hegton * Inkster * Johnstown * Lakeville * Larimore *

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

Lind Lind is a surname of both Swedish and Estonian origin. In Swedish, it is the word for the linden tree. In Estonian, it is the word for bird. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 36.1% of all known bearers of the surname ''Lind'' were resid ...

* Logan Center * Loretta * Mekinock *

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

* Niagara * Northwood * Oakville * Pleasant View *

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

* Rye *

Strabane Strabane (; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,507 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Government Li ...

* Turtle River * Union * Walle * Washington * Wheatfield

Politics

Like all parts of North Dakota other than areas with reservations, Grand Forks County voters historically and currently vote Republican at the presidential level. In only one national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. However, the large student population has kept margins closer in recent elections.

Education

References

External links

Grand Forks County – official website
* Grand Forks County maps
Sheet 1
(northern) an
Sheet 2
(southern), ''North Dakota DOT'' {{Authority control Greater Grand Forks 1875 establishments in Dakota Territory Populated places established in 1875