Cass County, North Dakota

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Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 184,525,<ref name="2020 Census (City)">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> making it the most populous county in North Dakota, and was estimated to be 200,945 in 2024.<ref name="QF"/> It contains over 25.23% of the state's population.<ref>Based on the 2024 Estimate: 200,945 / 796,568 (ND pop.) = 23.68%</ref> The county seat is Fargo,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the state's most populous city. The county is named for George Washington Cass, president of the Northern Pacific Railway from 1872 to 1875. It is the only Cass County in the United States that is not named after Lewis Cass.

Cass County is part of the Fargo, ND-Moorhead, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

HistoryEdit

Cass County was defined by action of the Dakota Territory legislature on January 4, 1873, and its organization was affected on October 27 of that year. It was named for railroad executive George Washington Cass (1810–1888).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Its boundaries were altered in 1875, and in 1961.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

GeographyEdit

Cass County lies on the east side of North Dakota. Its east boundary line abuts the west boundary line of the state of Minnesota across the river. The Red River flows northward along the county's east boundary, on its way to Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay. The county's terrain consists of low rolling hills, devoted to agriculture except around developed areas.<ref name=CCND>Cass County ND Google Maps (accessed February 16, 2019)</ref> Its terrain slopes to the north and east, with its highest point on the southwestern corner at Template:Convert ASL.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=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 (0.16%) is water.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is the 10th largest county in North Dakota by total area.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

LakesEdit

Cass County has the following lakes:<ref name=CCND/>

Brewer Lake
Lake Bertha

DemographicsEdit

Template:US Census population

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Cass County was $301,108.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 81,668 estimated households in Cass County with an average of 2.24 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $75,023. Approximately 9.7% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Cass County has an estimated 75.8% employment rate, with 43.3% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 95.8% holding a high school diploma.<ref name="QF">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=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 32.6 years.

Cass County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition
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Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic)	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> !! Pop. 1990<ref name="Census 1990">{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> !! Pop. 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> !! Pop. 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> !! Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
White alone (NH)	86,522 (98.05%)	99,986 (97.19%)	116,263 (94.42%)	135,530 (90.49%)	149,442 (80.99%)
Black or African American alone (NH)	141 (0.16%)	274 (0.27%)	978 (0.79%)	3,372 (2.25%)	12,761 (6.92%)
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	501 (0.57%)	918 (0.89%)	1,277 (1.04%)	1,681 (1.12%)	2,367 (1.28%)
Asian alone (NH)	392 (0.44%)	973 (0.95%)	1,543 (1.25%)	3,524 (2.35%)	6,034 (3.27%)
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	—	—	42 (0.03%)	49 (0.03%)	79 (0.04%)
Other race alone (NH)	176 (0.20%)	23 (0.02%)	96 (0.08%)	140 (0.09%)	459 (0.25%)
Mixed race or multiracial (NH)	—	—	1,421 (1.15%)	2,467 (1.65%)	7,201 (3.90%)
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	515 (0.58%)	700 (0.68%)	1,518 (1.23%)	3,015 (2.01%)	6,182 (3.35%)
Total	88,247 (100.00%)	102,874 (100.00%)	123,138 (100.00%)	149,778 (100.00%)	184,525 (100.00%)

2024 estimateEdit

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 200,945 people and 81,668 households residing in the county. There were 92,465 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 85.3% White (82.2% NH White), 7.3% African American, 1.7% Native American, 3.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.8% of the population.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2020 censusEdit

As of the 2020 census, there were 184,525 people, 78,672 households, and 42,849 families residing in the county.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 85,397 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 82.00% White, 7.03% African American, 1.42% Native American, 3.29% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.08% from some other races and 5.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.35% of the population.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2010 censusEdit

As of the 2010 census, there were 149,778 people, 63,899 households, and 35,215 families in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 67,938 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 91.67% White, 2.29% African American, 1.22% Native American, 2.36% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from some other races and 1.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.01% of the population.

In terms of ancestry, 45.4% were German, 35.8% were Norwegian, 9.2% were Irish, 6.3% were Swedish, and 1.7% were American.

Of the 63,899 households, 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 44.9% were non-families, and 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 31.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,600 and the median income for a family was $68,858. Males had a median income of $42,557 versus $31,916 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,184. About 5.8% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decadeEdit

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GovernmentEdit

County CommissionersEdit

Cass County is governed by a board of commissioners elected to four-year terms. Other elected officials include the sheriff and state's attorney. Appointed officials include administrator, extension agent, director of tax equalization, finance auditor, highway engineer, human services officer, information technology coordinator, recorder, veterans service officer, and weed control officer.

District	Commissioner	Assumed office	Current term ends
1st	Tim Flakoll (Vice Chair)	2024	2028
2nd	Tony Grindberg (Chair)	2022	2026
3rd	Jim Kapitan	2020	2024
4th	Duane Breitling	2018	2026
5th	Joel Vettel	2024	2028

The current Sheriff is Jesse F. Jahner. Jahner has served as Sheriff of Cass County since January 2, 2019.

The voters of Cass County have historically tended to vote Republican. As recently as the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush carried Cass County with nearly 60 percent of the vote. However, in recent elections, the county has become more politically diverse and competitive, particularly in Fargo. In 2008, Democratic candidate Barack Obama won the majority of votes in Cass County, with a voting percentage very close to the percentage Obama received in the entire nation, while John McCain won the majority of votes in North Dakota. Mitt Romney's winning margin in 2012 over Obama in Cass County was 49.9% to 47%, while Donald Trump received 49.3% of votes in 2016 (52.69% in 2024), compared to 38.8% for Hillary Clinton and 11.9% for third-party candidates. In 2018, Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp achieved a 14-point lead in Eastern North Dakota, although the state as a whole soundly elected Republican Kevin Cramer.

CommunitiesEdit

CitiesEdit

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Census-designated placesEdit

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Unincorporated communitiesEdit

TownshipsEdit

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EducationEdit

School districts include:<ref name=SchoolDistList2020>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} - Text list - 2010 map and 2010 text list - Hope-Page formed in 2020, but both the 2010 and 2020 maps show Page as a separate district</ref>

K-12: Template:Div col

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Elementary:

Mapleton Public School District 7

Former districts:

Page Public School District 80<ref name=SchoolDistList2020/> - Consolidated with Hope district in 2020<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }} - Check the 2020-2021 spreadsheet, which lists a single "Hope Page" school district, and compare with all previous sheets which show them as two separate school districts.</ref>

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

External linksEdit

Cass County – official website
Cass County maps, Sheet 1 Template:Webarchive (northern) and Sheet 2 Template:Webarchive (southern), North Dakota DOT

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Template:Cass County, North Dakota Template:Fargo-Moorhead Template:US state navigation box Template:Authority control

Cass County, North Dakota

Contents

HistoryEdit

GeographyEdit

Major highwaysEdit

TransitEdit

Adjacent countiesEdit

LakesEdit

DemographicsEdit

2024 estimateEdit

2020 censusEdit

2010 censusEdit

Population by decadeEdit

GovernmentEdit

County CommissionersEdit

CommunitiesEdit

CitiesEdit

Census-designated placesEdit

Unincorporated communitiesEdit

TownshipsEdit

EducationEdit

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

External linksEdit