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Benson County
Benson County
County
	Benson County Courthouse
	Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
	North Dakota's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 48°04′N 99°22′W / 48.07°N 99.36°W
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Founded	March 9, 1883 (created); June 4, 1884 (organized)
Named for	Bertil W. Benson
Seat	Minnewaukan
Largest community	Fort Totten
Area
• Total	1,439 sq mi (3,730 km2)
• Land	1,389 sq mi (3,600 km2)
• Water	51 sq mi (130 km2) 3.5%
Population (2020)
• Total	5,964
• Estimate (2022)	5,770
• Density	4.1/sq mi (1.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.bensoncountynd.com

Benson County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,964.^[1] Its county seat is Minnewaukan.^[2] The county was created on March 9, 1883^[3] by the Dakota Territory legislature, and was named for Bertil W. Benson, a Dakota Territory legislator at the time. The county government was organized on June 4, 1884, and its boundary lines were altered by two legislative actions in 1885.^[4]

White Horse Hill National Game Preserve and much of the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation are located within the county.

Geography

Much of the east boundary line of Benson County is delineated by the shore of Devils Lake, a closed-capture lake which would spill into the Sheyenne River in an overflow condition. The North Fork Sheyenne River flows southeasterly through the lower SW portion of the county.

The terrain of Benson County consists of rolling hills dotted with lakes, ponds and drainages.^[5] The terrain slopes to the east, and its highest point is on the lower portion of its west boundary line, at 1,624 ft (495 m) ASL.^[6] The county has a total area of 1,439 square miles (3,730 km²), of which 1,389 square miles (3,600 km²) is land and 51 square miles (130 km²) (3.5%) is water.^[7]

Adjacent counties

Towner County – north
Ramsey County – northeast
Nelson County – east
Eddy County – southeast
Wells County – southwest
Pierce County – west

Major highways

Protected areas

Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Grahams Island State Park (part)
Pleasant Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Silver Lake National Wildlife Refuge (part)
White Horse Hill National Game Preserve
Volk National Wildlife Refuge^[5]
Wood Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Wurgler National Wildlife Refuge^[5]

Lakes

Broken Bone Lake
Cranberry Lake
Free Peoples Lake
Horseshoe Lake
Lake Murie
Lake Yri
Long Lake
Sand Lake
Shin Bone Lake
Spring Lake
Stink Lake
Stony Lake
Wood Lake

^[5]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	2,460		—
1900	8,320		238.2%
1910	12,681		52.4%
1920	13,095		3.3%
1930	13,327		1.8%
1940	12,629		−5.2%
1950	10,675		−15.5%
1960	9,435		−11.6%
1970	8,245		−12.6%
1980	7,944		−3.7%
1990	7,198		−9.4%
2000	6,964		−3.3%
2010	6,660		−4.4%
2020	5,964		−10.5%
2022 (est.)	5,770	^[8]	−3.3%
U.S. Decennial Census^[9] 1790-1960^[10] 1900-1990^[11] 1990-2000^[12] 2010-2020^[1]

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, there were 5,964 people.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 6,660 people, 2,233 households, and 1,628 families in the county. The population density was 4.8 inhabitants per square mile (1.9/km²). There were 2,950 housing units at an average density of 2.1 units per square mile (0.81/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 55.0% American Indian, 43.4% white, 0.2% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 22.0% were Norwegian, 18.0% were German, 5.0% were Irish, and 0.6% were American.

Of the 2,233 households, 41.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 20.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.1% were non-families, and 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.46. The median age was 31.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,479 and the median income for a family was $34,597. Males had a median income of $31,729 versus $25,253 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,545. About 26.1% of families and 35.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.3% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Communities

Cities and CDPs have population included as of 2020, and townships have the population as of 2020. The largest community by far is Fort Totten, followed by Leeds, Maddock and the county seat, Minnewaukan. There are nine cities in the county. The largest township by a 60% margin is Mission (935), which is on the south shore of Devils Lake and is popular for vacationing, as well as gambling at the Spirit Lake Casino and Resort. It is within the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation. It is followed by Wood Lake Township (471), immediately to the south of Mission Township and also included in the reservation. The third largest is Lallie Township (325), to the west of Fort Totten on the south shore of Devils Lake and within the reservation.

Cities

Census-designated place

Fort Totten

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Politics

Typical of many counties in the state where a significant share of the population is Native American, Benson County used to lean Democratic in presidential elections. Prior to 2020, no Republican candidate had won the majority of the county's votes since Ronald Reagan in 1984. However, George W. Bush in 2000 & Donald Trump in 2016 both won a plurality of the county's votes. In 2020, Trump won a majority of the county's votes, gaining nearly 56% of the county's votes, and in 2024 he further increased his vote share, gaining over 58% of the votes.

United States presidential election results for Benson County, North Dakota^[13]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	1,163	58.09%	795	39.71%	44	2.20%
2020	1,094	55.79%	822	41.92%	45	2.29%
2016	929	46.20%	842	41.87%	240	11.93%
2012	868	40.24%	1,235	57.26%	54	2.50%
2008	773	32.56%	1,569	66.09%	32	1.35%
2004	1,002	44.61%	1,196	53.25%	48	2.14%
2000	1,055	48.98%	952	44.20%	147	6.82%
1996	850	39.13%	1,059	48.76%	263	12.11%
1992	874	33.30%	1,126	42.90%	625	23.81%
1988	1,316	43.42%	1,691	55.79%	24	0.79%
1984	1,729	51.41%	1,599	47.55%	35	1.04%
1980	2,149	59.91%	1,119	31.20%	319	8.89%
1976	1,689	45.34%	1,973	52.97%	63	1.69%
1972	2,050	55.09%	1,635	43.94%	36	0.97%
1968	1,707	46.86%	1,772	48.64%	164	4.50%
1964	1,489	36.67%	2,566	63.20%	5	0.12%
1960	2,259	50.84%	2,181	49.09%	3	0.07%
1956	2,340	55.67%	1,851	44.04%	12	0.29%
1952	3,192	69.63%	1,353	29.52%	39	0.85%
1948	1,920	44.33%	2,216	51.17%	195	4.50%
1944	1,726	43.04%	2,261	56.38%	23	0.57%
1940	2,485	45.85%	2,898	53.47%	37	0.68%
1936	1,020	19.02%	3,343	62.33%	1,000	18.65%
1932	1,170	23.79%	3,650	74.23%	97	1.97%
1928	2,621	53.80%	2,194	45.03%	57	1.17%
1924	1,870	45.00%	246	5.92%	2,040	49.09%
1920	3,540	81.10%	680	15.58%	145	3.32%
1916	1,210	53.30%	922	40.62%	138	6.08%
1912	515	26.13%	594	30.14%	862	43.73%
1908	1,363	67.81%	553	27.51%	94	4.68%
1904	1,111	85.59%	143	11.02%	44	3.39%
1900	1,084	75.49%	319	22.21%	33	2.30%