Ramsey 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 ...
of
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 11,605,
and was estimated to be 11,510 in 2024.
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
Devils Lake.
History
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 the county on January 4, 1873, with areas partitioned from
Pembina County. The county was named for
Alexander Ramsey
Alexander Ramsey (September 8, 1815 April 22, 1903) was an American politician, who became the first Minnesota Territorial Governor and later became a U.S. Senator. He served as a Whig and Republican over a variety of offices between the 18 ...
, a
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
from
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 ...
and the first
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 ...
Territorial Governor. The county government was not completed at that time, and the county was not attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. This situation continued until January 25, 1883, when the county government was affected.
The county's boundaries were altered twice in March 1883, twice more in 1885, and again in 1890. Its present boundaries have remained unchanged since 1890.
Geography
The southwest boundary of Ramsey County is defined by
Devils Lake. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds. The area is largely devoted to agriculture.
The terrain slopes to the lake, with its highest point at the NE county corner, 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 (%) is water. It is the 26th largest county in North Dakota by total area.
Major highways
*
U.S. Highway 2
*
U.S. Highway 281
*
North Dakota Highway 1
*
North Dakota Highway 17
*
North Dakota Highway 19
*
North Dakota Highway 20
*
North Dakota Highway 57
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 ...
'' (''
Devils Lake station
Devils Lake station is a train station in Devils Lake, North Dakota. It is served by Amtrak's '' Empire Builder'' train, which stops in six other North Dakota cities.
The station was originally built in the early 1900s by the Great Northern ...
'')
* Devils Lake Transit
Adjacent counties
*
Cavalier County - north
*
Walsh County - east
*
Nelson County - southeast
*
Benson County - southwest
*
Towner County - northwest
National protected areas
*
Lake Alice National Wildlife Refuge (part)
*
Silver Lake National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Lakes
Source:
[
* Chain Lake
* Creel Bay
* Dry Lake
* East Devils Lake
* Lake Alice
* Lake Irvine
* Mikes Lake
* Morrison Lake
* Sixmile Bay
* Sweetwater Lake
]
Demographics
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Ramsey County was $209,156.
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 5,185 estimated households in Ramsey County with an average of 2.14 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $61,319. Approximately 12.4% 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 ...
. Ramsey County has an estimated 67.7% employment rate, with 27.6% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 93.1% holding a high school diploma.
2024 estimate
As of the 2024 estimate, there were 11,510 people and 5,185 households residing in the county. There were 5,899 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 82.7% White ''(81.2% NH White)'', 1.1% African American, 11.8% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.0% of the population.
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 11,605 people, 4,947 households, and 2,883 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 5,843 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 81.33% 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 ...
, 0.63% 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 ...
, 11.00% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.09% 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 ...
, 0.62% from some other races and 5.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.36% of the population.
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 11,451 people, 4,955 households, and 3,008 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 5,615 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.72% 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 ...
, 0.36% 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 ...
, 8.68% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.04% 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 ...
, 0.24% from some other races and 2.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.20% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 41.9% were German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, 37.7% were Norwegian, 7.0% were Irish, 5.7% were Swedish, 5.2% were English, and 2.9% were American.
There were 4,955 households, 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.3% were non-families, and 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age was 43.0 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,792 and the median income for a family was $56,632. Males had a median income of $41,274 versus $25,171 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the county was $24,130. About 8.7% of families and 11.5% of the population were 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 ...
, including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.
Population by decade
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Communities
Cities
* Brocket
* Crary
* Devils Lake (county seat)
* Edmore
* Hampden
* Lawton
* Starkweather
Unincorporated communities
Source:[
* Bartlett
* Churchs Ferry
* Darby
* Derrick
* Doyon
* Essex
* Garske
* Grand Harbor
* Keith
* Lakewood Park
* Penn
* Ramsey
* Rohrville
* Saint Joe
* Southam
* Sweetwater
* Webster
]
Townships
* Bartlett
* Cato
* Chain Lakes
* Coulee
* Creel
* De Groat
* Dry Lake
* Fancher
* Freshwater
* Grand Harbor
* Hammer
* Harding
* Highland Center
* Hope
* Klingstrup
* Lawton
* Lillehoff
* Minnewaukan
* Morris
* Newbre
* Newland
* Noonan
* North Creel
* Northfield
* Odessa
* Ontario
* Overland
* Pelican
* Poplar Grove
* Prospect
* Royal
* South Minnewaukan
* Stevens
* Sullivan
* Triumph
* Webster
Politics
Ramsey County voters have traditionally voted Republican. In only two national elections since 1944 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).
Education
School districts include:[ ]
Text list
/ref>
* Dakota Prairie Public School District 1
* Devils Lake Public School District 1
* Edmore Public School District 2
* Lakota Public School District 66
* Leeds Public School District 6
* Minnewaukan Public School District 5
Minnewaukan is a city in Benson County, North Dakota, United States. It serves as the county seat and is fourth largest city in the county, after Fort Totten, Leeds, and Maddock. The population was 199 at the 2020 census. Minnewaukan was found ...
* North Star School District
* Starkweather Public School District 44
* Warwick Public School District 29
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Ramsey County, North Dakota
References
External links
Ramsey County – official website
* Ramsey County maps
Sheet 1
(northern) an
Sheet 2
(southern), ''North Dakota DOT''
{{Authority control
1883 establishments in Dakota Territory
Populated places established in 1883