Divide County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,195. Its county seat is Crosby.

History

During the election on November 8, 1910, the voters of Williams County determined that the county should be divided into a northern and a southern county. The vote was affirmative; the southern portion retained the Williams name; the newly created county was named "Divide", with Crosby as the seat. The county government was effected on December 9 of that year, and the county's boundaries have remained unchanged since that time. Most histories attribute the county name to its "division" from Williams County, though the county's location on the Laurentian Divide, separating runoff waters between Hudson Bay and Gulf of Mexico, may have been involved.

Geography

Divide County lies at the northwest corner of North Dakota. Its northern boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Canada, opposite Saskatchewan, and its west boundary line abuts the east boundary line of the state of Montana. The terrain of Divide County consists of semi-arid rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds, partially devoted to agriculture. The terrain generally slopes to the east; the northern part also slopes to the north while the southern part slopes to the south. The county has a total area of 1,294 square miles (3,350 km), of which 1,261 square miles (3,270 km) is land and 33 square miles (85 km) (2.6%) is water.

Divide County is one of several western North Dakota counties with significant exposure to the Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin.

Major highways

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

Lakes

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	6,015		—
1920	9,637		60.2%
1930	9,636		0.0%
1940	7,086		−26.5%
1950	5,967		−15.8%
1960	5,566		−6.7%
1970	4,564		−18.0%
1980	3,494		−23.4%
1990	2,899		−17.0%
2000	2,283		−21.2%
2010	2,071		−9.3%
2020	2,195		6.0%
2022 (est.)	2,187		−0.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, there were 2,195 people.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,071 people, 977 households, and 584 families in the county. The population density was 1.6 inhabitants per square mile (0.62/km). There were 1,324 housing units at an average density of 1.1 units per square mile (0.42/km). The racial makeup of the county was 98.0% white, 0.5% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.0% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 57.7% were Norwegian, 30.3% were German, 8.5% were Irish, 5.2% were Swedish, and 2.9% were American.

Of the 977 households, 19.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 4.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 40.2% were non-families, and 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.66. The median age was 51.4 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,152 and the median income for a family was $65,000. Males had a median income of $42,341 versus $27,596 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,462. About 9.4% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.7% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Among the population claiming adherence to a particular religious organization, 80.6% claimed adherence to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 2010. This rate is the highest such rate for the ELCA among all counties in the United States.

Population by decade

Places of interest

Two petroglyphs are displayed at Writing Rock State Historical Site in Writing Rock Township.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Politics

Divide County, though formerly a swing county, now leans heavily Republican. It has selected the Republican party candidate in every presidential election since 2000.

United States presidential election results for Divide County, North Dakota

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	904	75.21%	265	22.05%	33	2.75%
2016	867	71.12%	245	20.10%	107	8.78%
2012	733	63.08%	385	33.13%	44	3.79%
2008	630	55.70%	464	41.03%	37	3.27%
2004	751	59.23%	487	38.41%	30	2.37%
2000	443	55.79%	306	38.54%	45	5.67%
1996	488	36.42%	637	47.54%	215	16.04%
1992	515	31.79%	634	39.14%	471	29.07%
1988	869	49.15%	875	49.49%	24	1.36%
1984	1,165	63.32%	626	34.02%	49	2.66%
1980	1,267	66.06%	509	26.54%	142	7.40%
1976	881	44.54%	1,057	53.44%	40	2.02%
1972	1,230	60.29%	774	37.94%	36	1.76%
1968	1,032	50.39%	914	44.63%	102	4.98%
1964	779	34.15%	1,498	65.67%	4	0.18%
1960	1,348	51.95%	1,243	47.90%	4	0.15%
1956	1,296	51.99%	1,194	47.89%	3	0.12%
1952	1,999	70.79%	807	28.58%	18	0.64%
1948	981	48.14%	887	43.52%	170	8.34%
1944	1,225	44.19%	1,513	54.58%	34	1.23%
1940	1,437	44.32%	1,771	54.63%	34	1.05%
1936	585	16.54%	2,212	62.56%	739	20.90%
1932	817	24.02%	2,374	69.78%	211	6.20%
1928	1,963	60.36%	1,250	38.44%	39	1.20%
1924	743	30.43%	91	3.73%	1,608	65.85%
1920	2,438	80.81%	462	15.31%	117	3.88%
1916	707	39.41%	950	52.95%	137	7.64%
1912	404	28.59%	375	26.54%	634	44.87%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Divide County, North Dakota
• Westby, Montana was founded in North Dakota in Divide County and then was moved to Montana.