April 5, 2001

Redistricting Will Continue Shift of Legislative Power to Urban Areas

Census population counts for 2000 have been released from the U.S. Census Bureau for redistricting purposes. According to the recent Population Bulletin released from the North Dakota State Data Center, North Dakota has a population of 642,200 persons. This total ranks the state 47th in the nation, a ranking unchanged from the 1990 Census.

North Dakota gained 3,400 persons or 0.5 percent during the past 10 years. Of the 53 counties in the state, only six of them showed increases; Cass (19.7 percent), Burleigh (15.4 percent), Sioux (7.5 percent), Rolette (7.1 percent), Morton (6.8 percent), and Ward (1.5 percent). The largest growth was in Cass County, which gained more than 20,000 people in the past decade followed by Burleigh County which grew by more than 9,000 people. In contrast, Grand Forks County lost more than 4,500 residents followed by Cavalier, McLean, Mercer, Ward and Williams counties all losing more than 4,000 residents.

More than one-third (36.9 percent) of North Dakotans now live in the eastern counties bordering the Red River. In fact, nearly one in five live in Cass County. "This has important implications for redistricting," said Richard Rathge, Director of the State Data Center. "The legislative delegation representing Cass County will be equal in size to that representing the 35 smallest counties in North Dakota. The metropolitan counties of Cass, Burleigh, Morton, and Grand Forks counties will now account for nearly half of the legislature," said Rathge.

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Source: Richard Rathge, (701) 231-8621, richard_rathge@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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