Bottineau County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,379. Its county seat is Bottineau.

The Territorial legislature identified Bottineau as one of the original counties of the territory. on January 4, 1873. Its organization was effected on July 17, 1884. It is named for Pierre Bottineau (c.1814-1895), a Métis pioneer, hunter, and trapper who became a successful land speculator.

Bottineau is well known for its winter park, snowmobiling, and ice fishing. It is south of the Canadian borders of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Bottineau County lies on the north side of North Dakota. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Canada. The Deep River flows south-southeastward through the center part of the county. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds. The terrain slopes to the south, with its highest point on its upper east boundary line, at 2,283 ft (696 m) ASL. The county has a total area of 1,697 square miles (4,400 km), of which 1,668 square miles (4,320 km) is land and 29 square miles (75 km) (1.7%) is water.

Part of the Turtle Mountain plateau lies in the northeastern corner of the county.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	2,893		—
1900	7,532		160.4%
1910	17,295		129.6%
1920	15,109		−12.6%
1930	14,853		−1.7%
1940	13,253		−10.8%
1950	12,140		−8.4%
1960	11,315		−6.8%
1970	9,496		−16.1%
1980	9,239		−2.7%
1990	8,011		−13.3%
2000	7,149		−10.8%
2010	6,429		−10.1%
2020	6,379		−0.8%
2022 (est.)	6,376		0.0%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

As of the census of 2020, there were 6,379 people.

As of the census of 2010, there were 6,429 people, 2,832 households, and 1,823 families in the county. The population density was 3.9 inhabitants per square mile (1.5/km). There were 4,341 housing units at an average density of 2.6 units per square mile (1.0/km). The racial makeup of the county was 95.1% white, 2.1% American Indian, 0.4% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 47.0% were Norwegian, 37.4% were German, 7.7% were Irish, 6.2% were Swedish, and 1.4% were American.

Of the 2,832 households, 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.6% were non-families, and 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age was 48.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,227 and the median income for a family was $60,714. Males had a median income of $42,227 versus $27,500 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,277. About 9.5% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.

Bottineau County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.

United States presidential election results for Bottineau County, North Dakota

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	2,628	76.24%	735	21.32%	84	2.44%
2020	2,575	74.19%	821	23.65%	75	2.16%
2016	2,494	71.38%	736	21.06%	264	7.56%
2012	2,280	64.14%	1,183	33.28%	92	2.59%
2008	2,059	58.56%	1,387	39.45%	70	1.99%
2004	2,468	67.17%	1,168	31.79%	38	1.03%
2000	2,349	63.66%	1,173	31.79%	168	4.55%
1996	1,682	47.80%	1,280	36.37%	557	15.83%
1992	1,787	43.54%	1,266	30.85%	1,051	25.61%
1988	2,530	59.52%	1,684	39.61%	37	0.87%
1984	3,356	71.59%	1,279	27.28%	53	1.13%
1980	3,394	70.30%	1,090	22.58%	344	7.13%
1976	2,638	56.13%	1,987	42.28%	75	1.60%
1972	3,263	69.60%	1,369	29.20%	56	1.19%
1968	2,633	60.06%	1,520	34.67%	231	5.27%
1964	2,060	44.71%	2,546	55.26%	1	0.02%
1960	3,092	61.00%	1,974	38.94%	3	0.06%
1956	2,923	62.91%	1,718	36.98%	5	0.11%
1952	3,911	77.69%	1,094	21.73%	29	0.58%
1948	2,513	59.39%	1,571	37.13%	147	3.47%
1944	2,663	57.15%	1,953	41.91%	44	0.94%
1940	3,129	55.60%	2,469	43.87%	30	0.53%
1936	1,224	21.18%	3,286	56.86%	1,269	21.96%
1932	1,201	21.57%	4,178	75.05%	188	3.38%
1928	2,680	49.79%	2,648	49.19%	55	1.02%
1924	1,338	31.99%	221	5.28%	2,623	62.72%
1920	3,487	72.52%	970	20.17%	351	7.30%
1916	1,294	41.34%	1,471	47.00%	365	11.66%
1912	700	26.94%	825	31.76%	1,073	41.30%
1908	1,951	59.45%	1,146	34.92%	185	5.64%
1904	2,094	68.48%	753	24.62%	211	6.90%
1900	728	52.30%	628	45.11%	36	2.59%

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

• Bottineau County official website
• Bottineau County diamond jubilee, 1884-1959 : Bottineau, North Dakota, June 28-29-30-July 1, 1959 from the Digital Horizons website
• Bottineau County opportunities : North Dakota - the sunshine state (1916) from the Digital Horizons website
• Bottineau County maps, Sheet 1 (eastern) and Sheet 2 (western), North Dakota DOT

48°47′N 100°50′W / 48.79°N 100.84°W / 48.79; -100.84