Steele County, North Dakota

For the city in Kidder County, North Dakota, see Steele, North Dakota.

Steele County, North Dakota
Steele County Courthouse in Finley
Location in the U.S. state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location in the U.S.
Founded	June 2, 1883
Seat	Finley
Largest city	Finley
Area
• Total	715 sq mi (1,852 km2)
• Land	712 sq mi (1,844 km2)
• Water	3.2 sq mi (8 km2), 0.5%
Population (est.)
• (2014)	1,955
• Density	2.8/sq mi (1/km²)
Congressional district	At-large
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.steele.nd.us

Steele County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,975. It was established in 1883 by partition of Griggs and Traill counties, and named for businessman Edward H. Steele who was in large part responsible for its creation. Its county seat since 1919 is Finley.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 715 square miles (1,850 km²), of which 712 square miles (1,840 km²) is land and 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²) (0.5%) is water. It is the second-largest county by land area in North Dakota and the third-largest by total area.

Major highways

• North Dakota Route 32
• North Dakota Route 38
• North Dakota Route 200

Adjacent counties

• Grand Forks County (north)
• Traill County (east)
• Cass County (southeast)
• Barnes County (southwest)
• Griggs County (west)
• Nelson County (northeast)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	3,777		—
1900	5,888		55.9%
1910	7,616		29.3%
1920	7,401		−2.8%
1930	6,972		−5.8%
1940	6,193		−11.2%
1950	5,145		−16.9%
1960	4,719		−8.3%
1970	3,749		−20.6%
1980	3,106		−17.2%
1990	2,420		−22.1%
2000	2,258		−6.7%
2010	1,975		−12.5%
Est. 2014	1,955		−1.0%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2014

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,258 people, 923 households, and 635 families residing in the county. The population density was 3 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 1,231 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.32% White, 0.04% Black or African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.04% Asian, 0.22% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 0.18% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 60.7% were of Norwegian and 15.6% German ancestry.

There were 923 households out of which 29.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.30% were married couples living together, 4.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.60% under the age of 18, 4.70% from 18 to 24, 23.10% from 25 to 44, 25.00% from 45 to 64, and 19.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 107.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,757, and the median income for a family was $43,914. Males had a median income of $30,104 versus $20,694 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,601. About 5.00% of families and 7.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.00% of those under age 18 and 3.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Finley (county seat)
• Hope
• Luverne
• Sharon

Unincorporated communities

• Pickert
• Blabon

Ghost town

• Sherbrooke (original county seat)

Townships

• Beaver Creek
• Broadlawn
• Carpenter
• Colgate
• Easton
• Edendale
• Enger
• Finley
• Franklin
• Golden Lake
• Greenview
• Hugo
• Melrose
• Newburgh
• Primrose
• Riverside
• Sharon
• Sherbrooke
• Westfield
• Willow Lake

See also

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