Sioux County, North Dakota

Sioux County is a county located along the southern border of the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,898,<ref name="2020 Census (City)">Template:Cite web</ref> and was estimated to be 3,713 in 2024.<ref name="QF"/> Its eastern border is the Missouri River and its county seat is Fort Yates.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The county was created by proclamation of Governor Louis B. Hanna on September 3, 1914. It was named for the Native American Lakota, whose historic territory included this area. The county government organization was completed on September 12 of that year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county lies entirely within the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, forming the northernmost 30 percent of the reservation; the balance of the reservation is in South Dakota. It is the only county in North Dakota that is entirely within an Indian reservation. From 2013 to 2018, Sioux County was included in the Bismarck, ND Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Sioux County lies on the south line of North Dakota. Its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of the state of South Dakota. Its north boundary line is formed by the east-northeastward-flowing Cedar Creek, which discharges into the Missouri River at the county's northeast corner, and its east boundary line is formed by the south-southeast-flowing Missouri River, which also forms Lake Oahe along the county boundary line. Porcupine Creek flows southeastward into the Missouri River, draining the northeastern part of the county. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills etched with gullies and drainages; the area is mostly devoted to agriculture.<ref name="SCND">Template:Cite web</ref> The terrain slopes to the east and south; its highest point is on the west line, near the southwestern corner of the county, at Template:Convert ASL.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (3.03%) is water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is the 34th largest county in North Dakota by total area.

The southwest corner counties of North Dakota (Adams, Billings, Bowman, Golden Valley, Grant, Hettinger, Slope, and Stark) observe Mountain Time. The counties of McKenzie, Dunn, and Sioux are split, observing Mountain Time in their western portions.

Major highways

• File:ND-6 (2015).svg North Dakota Highway 6
• File:ND-24 (2015).svg North Dakota Highway 24
• File:ND-31 (2015).svg North Dakota Highway 31
• File:ND-49 (2015).svg North Dakota Highway 49
• File:ND-1806 (2015).svg North Dakota Highway 1806

Adjacent counties

• Morton County - north (observes Central Time)
• Emmons County - east (observes Central Time)
• Corson County, South Dakota - south (observes Mountain Time)
• Adams County - west (observes Mountain Time)
• Grant County - northwest (observes Mountain Time)

Protected areas<ref name=SCND/>

• Cedar River National Grassland (part)
• Froelich Dam State Game Management Area

Demographics

As of the third quarter of 2024, the median home value in Sioux County was $92,670.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 1,067 estimated households in Sioux County with an average of 3.50 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $41,676. Approximately 34.9% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Sioux County has an estimated 50.9% employment rate, with 11.2% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 86.9% holding a high school diploma.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref>

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 (92.7%), Spanish (0.3%), Indo-European (0.2%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.0%), and Other (6.7%).

The median age in the county was 28.7 years.

Sioux County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
Template:Nobold

Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic)	Pop. 1980<ref name=1980CensusScope>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop. 1990<ref name=1990CensusScope>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop. 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop. 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>
White alone (NH)	1,265 (34.94%)	905 (24.06%)	577 (14.27%)	517 (12.45%)	401 (10.29%)
Black or African American alone (NH)	0 (0.00%)	3 (0.08%)	1 (0.02%)	6 (0.14%)	3 (0.08%)
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	2,329 (64.34%)	2,812 (74.77%)	3,365 (83.21%)	3,433 (82.66%)	3,281 (84.17%)
Asian alone (NH)	5 (0.14%)	12 (0.32%)	1 (0.02%)	4 (0.10%)	2 (0.05%)
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	—	—	2 (0.05%)	0 (0.00%)	0 (0.00%)
Other race alone (NH)	0 (0.00%)	0 (0.00%)	0 (0.00%)	0 (0.00%)	0 (0.00%)
Mixed race or multiracial (NH)	—	—	33 (0.82%)	111 (2.67%)	148 (3.80%)
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	21 (0.58%)	29 (0.77%)	65 (1.61%)	82 (1.97%)	63 (1.62%)
Total	3,620 (100.00%)	3,761 (100.00%)	4,044 (100.00%)	4,153 (100.00%)	3,898 (100.00%)

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 3,898 people, 1,103 households, and 791 families residing in the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 1,277 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 10.29% White, 0.08% African American, Template:Font color [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Template:Font color]], 0.05% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from some other races and 3.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.97% of the population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 4,153 people, 1,158 households, and 900 families in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 1,311 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 12.64% White, 0.17% African American, Template:Font color [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Template:Font color]], 0.10% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.10% from some other races and 2.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.61% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 13.5% were German, and 0.3% were American.

Of the 1,158 households, 54.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.5% were married couples living together, 31.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 22.3% were non-families, and 17.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.55 and the average family size was 3.89. The median age was 26.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,990 and the median income for a family was $31,098. Males had a median income of $31,894 versus $26,619 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,542. About 39.0% of families and 47.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 58.4% of those under age 18 and 36.1% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

<timeline> Colors=

 id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)
 id:darkgrey  value:gray(0.8)
 id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1)
 id:barra value:rgb(0.55,0.0,0.0)

ImageSize = width:650 height:325 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:4688 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:2344 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:586 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo

BarData=

 bar:1920 text:1920
 bar:1930 text:1930
 bar:1940 text:1940
 bar:1950 text:1950
 bar:1960 text:1960
 bar:1970 text:1970
 bar:1980 text:1980
 bar:1990 text:1990
 bar:2000 text:2000
 bar:2010 text:2010
 bar:2020 text:2020
 bar:2024 text:present

PlotData=

 color:barra width:25 align:left

 bar:1920 from: 0 till:3308
 bar:1930 from: 0 till:4687
 bar:1940 from: 0 till:4419
 bar:1950 from: 0 till:3696
 bar:1960 from: 0 till:3662
 bar:1970 from: 0 till:3632
 bar:1980 from: 0 till:3620
 bar:1990 from: 0 till:3761
 bar:2000 from: 0 till:4044
 bar:2010 from: 0 till:4153
 bar:2020 from: 0 till:3898
 bar:2024 from: 0 till:3713 color:darkblue

PlotData=

 bar:1920 at:3308 fontsize:L text:3308 shift:(-19,5)
 bar:1930 at:4687 fontsize:L text:4687 shift:(-19,5)
 bar:1940 at:4419 fontsize:L text:4419 shift:(-19,5)
 bar:1950 at:3696 fontsize:L text:3696 shift:(-19,5)
 bar:1960 at:3662 fontsize:L text:3662 shift:(-19,5)
 bar:1970 at:3632 fontsize:L text:3632 shift:(-19,5)
 bar:1980 at:3620 fontsize:L text:3620 shift:(-19,5)
 bar:1990 at:3761 fontsize:L text:3761 shift:(-19,5)
 bar:2000 at:4044 fontsize:L text:4044 shift:(-19,5)
 bar:2010 at:4153 fontsize:L text:4153 shift:(-19,5)
 bar:2020 at:3898 fontsize:L text:3898 shift:(-19,5)
 bar:2024 at:3713 fontsize:L text:3713 shift:(-19,5)

TextData=

 fontsize:S pos:(20,20)
 text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau

</timeline>

Communities

Cities

• Fort Yates (county seat)
• Selfridge
• Solen

Census-designated places

• Cannon Ball
• Porcupine

Township

• Menz

Politics

With its population being mostly Native American, Sioux County is one of the most consistently Democratic counties in North Dakota, having last backed a Republican presidential candidate in 1980. Since then the closest a Republican has gotten to winning the county was Ronald Reagan in 1984 who lost the county by 19 percent. John Hoeven, in his 2010 election to the Senate, as well as his 2008 reelection as governor, won the county. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the most votes in Sioux County, one of only two counties she won in the state. Green Party candidate Jill Stein received 10.4% of the popular vote.<ref name=leip/>

Education

School districts include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

• Fort Yates Public School District 4 (in cooperation with the Standing Rock Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) grant school)
• Selfridge Public School District 8
• Solen Public School District 3

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Sioux County, North Dakota

External links

• Sioux County maps, Sheet 1 (eastern) and Sheet 2 (western), North Dakota DOT