NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

April 8, 1999

North Dakota's Recent Population Dip Due to Flood, Farm Economics

North Dakota's population totaled 638,244 on July 1 last year, a level representing a decrease of 556 people since the 1990 Census, a dip of only 0.1 percent. But during that nine-year period the state's population was down, up and then down again, according to the recent Population Bulletin released from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University.

"This can be attributed largely to the losses resulting from flooding and the farm crisis," said Richard Rathge, data center director.

From 1990 through 1991, North Dakota's population declined by 4,593 persons to 634,207. But through 1996, the state's population rebounded by roughly 2,000 persons per year, Rathge says. However, total population dropped by about 1,800 in 1997 and another 2,700 in 1998.

Within North Dakota, Cass County had the largest percentage increase in population from 1990 through 1998 (13.6 percent). Sioux and Rolette counties followed with 11.5- and 11.3-percent increases, respectively. Rathge reports that Burke County had the largest percentage decline during this nine-year span (24.5 percent), followed by Sheridan County (21.1 percent).

The population within North Dakota continues to become concentrated. The top five counties including Cass, Grand Forks, Burleigh, Ward, and Morton represent more than 50 percent of the total population in North Dakota, Rathge says. In contrast, the smallest 27 counties in the state have fewer than 5,000 people in their entire county and as a group represent only 13 percent of North Dakota's total population.

"To put this in context, the largest county in our state, Cass County, has more people in it than the state's smallest 33 counties combined—or 62 percent of all counties," Rathge says.

More than one-third of the state's population (36.4 percent) live in counties bordering the Red River. Among all the states in the nation in 1998, North Dakota ranked 47th in population. Connecticut, Rhode Island and North Dakota were the only states registering a population loss from 1990 through 1998. The fastest-growing states were Nevada, Arizona, and Idaho ( 45.4, 27.4, and 22.0 percent, respectively).

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Source: Richard Rathge (701) 231-8621

Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136

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