Billings County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 945, making it the second-least populous county in North Dakota. Its county seat and only incorporated place is Medora.

The Territorial legislature authorized Billings County on February 10, 1879, naming it for Northern Pacific Railway president Frederick H. Billings. It was organized on May 4, 1886. The original county boundary was significantly altered since its creation, by actions in 1883, 1885, 1887, 1896, 1901 and 1904. Its most significant alterations came in 1907 (Bowman County partitioned off), 1912 (Golden Valley County partitioned off), and 1914 (Slope County partitioned off).

Geography

The Little Missouri River flows northward through the western portion of the county. Bullion Creek flows eastward into the southwestern corner of the county to discharge into the Little Missouri River.

Billings County terrain consists of rugged semi-arid hills in its western portion, giving way to more level ground in the east. The terrain slopes to the east and south, with its highest terrain along its west boundary line, at 2,523 ft (769 m) ASL.

Billings County has a total area of 1,153 square miles (2,990 km), of which 1,149 square miles (2,980 km) is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km) (0.4%) is water. The South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park lies in the central part of the county, just north of Medora.

Major highways

• Interstate 94
• U.S. Highway 85

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

• Little Missouri National Grassland (part)
• Sully Creek State Park
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park (South Unit)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	1,323		—
1890	170		−87.2%
1900	975		473.5%
1910	10,186		944.7%
1920	3,126		−69.3%
1930	3,140		0.4%
1940	2,531		−19.4%
1950	1,777		−29.8%
1960	1,513		−14.9%
1970	1,198		−20.8%
1980	1,138		−5.0%
1990	1,108		−2.6%
2000	888		−19.9%
2010	783		−11.8%
2020	945		20.7%
2022 (est.)	1,018		7.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, there were 945 people.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 783 people, 358 households, and 223 families in the county. The population density was 0.7 inhabitants per square mile (0.27/km). There were 484 housing units at an average density of 0.4 units per square mile (0.15/km). The racial makeup of the county was 98.6% white, 0.5% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% from other races, and 0.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 40.6% were German, 19.1% were Ukrainian, 17.7% were Norwegian, 9.3% were Irish, 7.4% were Russian, 5.0% were English, and 0.9% were American.

Of the 358 households, 19.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% were married couples living together, 1.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.7% were non-families, and 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age was 48.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $51,923 and the median income for a family was $61,250. Males had a median income of $46,806 versus $31,250 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,666. About 6.8% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Politics

Billings County voters have been traditionally Republican. In each of the last five elections (as of 2020) the Republican candidate has received over seventy percent of the county's vote. However, it has some third party or independent interest. Billings county gave Ross Perot over twenty percent of the vote in his 1992 and 1996 campaigns. It gave Pat Buchanan approximately six percent when he ran as the Reform Party's candidate in 2000.

United States presidential election results for Billings County, North Dakota

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	541	85.20%	72	11.34%	22	3.46%
2016	495	81.82%	59	9.75%	51	8.43%
2012	472	81.66%	89	15.40%	17	2.94%
2008	375	75.15%	114	22.85%	10	2.00%
2004	449	79.61%	99	17.55%	16	2.84%
2000	394	75.05%	82	15.62%	49	9.33%
1996	281	55.42%	116	22.88%	110	21.70%
1992	279	41.15%	123	18.14%	276	40.71%
1988	437	66.31%	211	32.02%	11	1.67%
1984	505	77.34%	133	20.37%	15	2.30%
1980	524	76.05%	122	17.71%	43	6.24%
1976	351	51.32%	285	41.67%	48	7.02%
1972	509	69.82%	192	26.34%	28	3.84%
1968	395	61.91%	174	27.27%	69	10.82%
1964	340	49.42%	348	50.58%	0	0.00%
1960	368	47.92%	400	52.08%	0	0.00%
1956	437	63.43%	248	35.99%	4	0.58%
1952	674	82.00%	143	17.40%	5	0.61%
1948	372	50.54%	311	42.26%	53	7.20%
1944	354	62.54%	209	36.93%	3	0.53%
1940	663	62.08%	404	37.83%	1	0.09%
1936	329	26.70%	729	59.17%	174	14.12%
1932	295	27.34%	760	70.44%	24	2.22%
1928	458	52.22%	412	46.98%	7	0.80%
1924	421	48.34%	32	3.67%	418	47.99%
1920	787	91.51%	61	7.09%	12	1.40%
1916	306	49.12%	276	44.30%	41	6.58%
1912	671	35.33%	547	28.80%	681	35.86%
1908	768	73.70%	236	22.65%	38	3.65%
1904	256	85.05%	37	12.29%	8	2.66%
1900	158	74.18%	51	23.94%	4	1.88%

Recreation

The Bully Pulpit Golf Course is located three miles south of Medora and the Maah Daah Hey Trail single track non-motorized trail starts 30 miles south of Medora.

Communities

City

• Medora (county seat)

Unorganized Territories

There are no townships in Billings County, but the United States Census Bureau divides the county into two unorganized territories:

• North Billings, which consists of all of the county north of I-94, had a population of 566 at the 2020 census.
• South Billings, which consists of all of the county south of I-94 outside Medora, had a population of 258 at the 2020 Census.

Unincorporated communities

See also

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