NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
April 6, 2000
Population estimates recently released from the U.S. Census Bureau show that as of July 1, 1999, North Dakota's population totaled 633,666. In 1990, North Dakota's population stood at 638,800. Only North Dakota, Connecticut and Rhode Island showed a decline in population from 1990 through 1999 while the fastest-growing states were Nevada, Arizona, and Idaho.
North Dakota's 1990-1999 population decline equates to a loss of 5,134 residents, or 0.8 percent of the total population, according to the recent Population Bulletin released from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University.
"The losses are due to a significant drop-off in births and our inability to keep young families in most of the rural areas of our state," says Richard Rathge, data center director. "We had nearly 1,900 fewer births in the state in 1999 than we did in 1990. If we could have sustained the level of births we had in 1990 throughout the decade, we would have gained nearly 7,500 residents. We can quickly reverse our downward population trend, however, if we could find an appropriate solution to the economic-development challenges facing our rural areas."
Between 1990 and 1991, North Dakota's population dropped to 634,199, but it rebounded by about 2,000 people a year through 1996, Rathge says. In 1997, North Dakota's population began to shrink again--dropping by 1,900 in 1997, another 3,100 in 1998 and about 4,100 in 1999.
But North Dakota's population loss is not universal across all counties, Rathge explains. For example, Cass County had the largest percentage increase in population between 1990 and 1999 (13.6 percent). Burleigh and Rolette counties followed with increases of 11.3 and 10.8 percent, respectively. Of those counties losing population, Burke County had the largest percentage decline during this 10-year span (24.4 percent), followed by Sheridan County at 21.2 percent.
Among all the states in the nation in 1999, North Dakota ranked 47th in population. The population within North Dakota continues to become centralized, Rathge says. The five counties with the largest populations--Cass, Burleigh, Grand Forks, Ward, and Morton--are home to more than 52 percent of all North Dakota residents.
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Source: Richard Rathge (701) 231-8621
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
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