September 6, 2001

Number of North Dakotans Living in Group Quarters Declines

About 3.7 percent of North Dakota’s population in 2000 resided in group quarter facilities, according to the latest Population Bulletin released from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University.

North Dakota had a total population of 642,200 in 2000 . Of these persons, a majority (96.3 percent) lived in households. Of the 23,631 persons residing in group quarter facilities, nearly 9,700 persons lived in institutionalized arrangements such as correctional facilities or nursing homes. Approximately 14,000 lived in noninstitutional settings such as college dormitories or military barracks.

The number of persons living in group quarters in North Dakota declined 2.5 percent between 1990 and 2000. Even so, North Dakota had the third highest proportion of persons living in group quarters. "This is a trend we need to monitor very closely," said Richard Rathge, Director of the State Data Center. "The proportion of seniors in our state is expected to grow, which means greater pressure on nursing homes and other elderly institutional facilities. Fortunately, the legislature recognized there will be growing demand for long-term services and funded two studies to investigate long-term care needs and needs of those who provide informal care (e.g. spouses, children, friends) to the elderly. Results and recommendations from these studies will be available in time for the next legislative session in 2003," said Rathge.

In South Dakota, 3.8 percent of persons were in group quarters, placing it first in the nation. Rhode Island followed at 3.7 percent.

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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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