Stutsman County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,593, and was estimated to be 21,414 in 2025, making it the 8th-most populous county in North Dakota. The county seat and the largest city is Jamestown.
Stutsman County comprises the Jamestown, North Dakota micropolitan statistical area.
History
The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, with area partitioned from Buffalo and Pembina counties. It was not organized at that time, nor was it attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. It was named for Enos Stutsman, an area lawyer and politician. On June 10 of the same year, the county organization was effected, with Jamestown as the county seat. Its boundaries have not changed since its creation.
Geography The James River flows south-southeasterly through the east central part of the county. The terrain consists of low rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds in its western portion. The area is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east and south; its highest point is a hill at the southwestern corner, at ASL.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.31%) is water. It is the 2nd largest county in North Dakota by total area.
Major highways
Transit Jefferson Lines
Adjacent counties
Foster County - north Griggs County - northeast Barnes County - east LaMoure County - southeast Logan County - southwest Kidder County - west Wells County - northwest
Protected areas
Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge (part) Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge Halfway Lake National Wildlife Refuge National Audubon Society Alkali Lake Wildlife Refuge
Lakes
Alkali Lake Arrowwood Lake Barnes Lake Big Mallard Marsh Blair Slough Blue Lake Chase Lake Chicago Lake Colby Lake Eric Lake Fischer Lake Fisher Lake Jamestown Reservoir Jim Lake Moon Lake Mud Lake Northwest Lake Pearl Lake Prairie Lake Prairie Pothole Runner Slough School Lake Spiritwood Lake Trautman Slough West Lake
Demographics
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Stutsman County was $212,229.
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 9,295 estimated households in Stutsman County with an average of 2.12 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $60,172. Approximately 11.0% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Stutsman County has an estimated 62.5% employment rate, with 24.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 92.8% 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 (96.5%), Spanish (1.3%), Indo-European (1.9%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.1%), and Other (0.3%).
Stutsman County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop. 1980 Pop. 1990 Pop. 2000 Pop. 2010 White alone (NH) 23,799(98.53%) 21,873(98.35%) 21,241(96.96%) 19,996(94.77%) 19,504(90.33%) Black or African American alone (NH) 30(0.12%) 46(0.21%) 55(0.25%) 126(0.60%) 444(2.06%) Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 134(0.55%) 140(0.63%) 197(0.90%) 297(1.41%) 296(1.37%) Asian alone (NH) 63(0.26%) 96(0.43%) 79(0.36%) 99(0.47%) 137(0.63%) Pacific Islander alone (NH) — — 8(0.04%) 12(0.06%) 4(0.02%) Other race alone (NH) 52(0.22%) 2(0.01%) 10(0.05%) 4(0.02%) 24(0.11%) Mixed race or multiracial (NH) — — 114(0.52%) 205(0.97%) 591(2.74%) Hispanic or Latino (any race) 76(0.31%) 84(0.38%) 204(0.93%) 361(1.71%) 593(2.75%) Total 24,154(100.00%) 22,241(100.00%) 21,908(100.00%) 21,100(100.00%) 21,593(100.00%)
2024 estimate As of the 2024 estimate, there were 21,546 people and 9,295 households residing in the county. There were 10,434 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.8% White (90.4% NH White), 2.3% African American, 2.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.3% of the population.
In the 2023 estimate, Stutsman County is the 39th wealthiest county in North Dakota. $68,370 for per capita income.
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 21,593, 9,084 households, and 5,178 families. The population density was . There were 10,374 housing units at an average density of .
Of the residents, 20.1% were under the age of 18 and 20.0% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 41.1 years. For every 100 females there were 104.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 106.7 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 91.34% White, 2.11% African American, 1.39% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from some other races and 3.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.75% of the population.
There were 9,084 households in the county, of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 10,374 housing units, of which 12.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 65.7% were owner-occupied and 34.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.4%.
2010 census As of the 2010 census, there were 21,100 people, 8,931 households, and 5,255 families in the county. The population density was . There were 9,862 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.56% White, 0.66% African American, 1.42% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from some other races and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.71% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 56.5% were German, 27.6% were Norwegian, 7.2% were Irish, 6.0% were Russian, 5.2% were English, and 2.4% were American.
There were 8,931 households, 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.2% were non-families, and 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.79. The median age was 42.0 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,620 and the median income for a family was $60,171. Males had a median income of $40,365 versus $27,549 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,307. About 6.3% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 14.6% of those age 65 or over.
Population by decade
Communities Cities
Buchanan Cleveland Courtenay Jamestown (county seat) Kensal Medina Montpelier Pingree Spiritwood Lake Streeter Woodworth
Census-designated places Spiritwood Ypsilanti
Unincorporated communities
Bloom Clementsville Durupt Fried Kloze Millarton Sharlow Sydney Vashti
Townships
Alexander Ashland Bloom Bloomenfield Buchanan Chicago Conklin Corinne Corwin Courtenay Cusator Deer Lake Durham Edmunds Eldridge Flint Fried Gerber Germania Glacier Gray Griffin Hidden Homer Iosco Jim River Valley Kensal Lenton Lippert Lowery Lyon Manns Marstonmoor Midway Montpelier Moon Lake Newbury Nogosek Paris Peterson Pingree Pipestem Valley Plainview Rose Round Top St. Paul Severn Sharlow Sinclair Spiritwood Stirton Streeter Strong Sydney Valley Spring Wadsworth Walters Weld Windsor Winfield Woodbury Ypsilanti
Politics Stutsman County voters have been reliably Republican for several decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.
Education School districts include: - Text list Barnes County North Public School District 7 Carrington Public School District 10 Gackle-Streeter Public School District 56 Jamestown Public School District 1 Kensal Public School District 19 Kidder County Public School District 1 Litchville-Marion Public School District 46 Medina Public School District 3 Montpelier Public School District 14 Pingree-Buchanan Public School District 10
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Stutsman County, North Dakota North Dakota statistical areas
References
External links Stutsman County – official website Stutsman County in the world war : Jamestown, North Dakota (1919) from the Digital Horizons website Stutsman County North Dakota in the James River Valley : a Stutsman home, and herds on pasture (1925) from the Digital Horizons website Stutsman County maps, Sheet 1 (northern) and Sheet 2 (southern), North Dakota DOT