Barnes County, North Dakota

Barnes County population, land area and income

Barnes County had 10,798 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 1,491.6 square miles of land. It ranks 13th of 53 in North Dakota by population and 15th by land area. That works out to 7.2 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and in the bottom quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in North Dakota has 3,853 residents, so Barnes County is 2.8 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $70,559 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Barnes County's population changed since 2020

Barnes County lost 44 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 0.4%. That ranks 20th of 53 in North Dakota for growth. The median North Dakota county changed by -1.3%, and the state as a whole by +2.2%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Barnes County recorded 380 births and 599 deaths, a natural change of -219. Net international migration added +225 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -40. The largest single component was international migration, which added 225 people.

Where Barnes County is

The Census internal point of Barnes County is at 46.942600, -98.070200. It sits in UTM zone 14N. The map shades North Dakota's 53 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Barnes County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Barnes County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Barnes County, 6,580 people together, or 61% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Barnes County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Valley City with 6,580.

Counties bordering Barnes County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Barnes County. The most populous is Cass County, ND, with 200,945 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Cass County

  200,945 people

  39 mi E

• Stutsman County

  21,546 people

  42 mi W

• Ransom County

  5,590 people

  40 mi SSE

• LaMoure County

  4,051 people

  39 mi SSW

• Griggs County

  2,227 people

  36 mi NNW

• Steele County

  1,767 people

  39 mi NNE

Distance to Bismarck and the nearest big city

Bismarck is 128.4 miles W of Barnes County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Fargo, ND (population 136,285), 58.8 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Jamestown, ND (population 15,789), 29.5 miles away.

Barnes County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Barnes County is 38003: state code 38 for North Dakota plus county code 003. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $70,559.