Mercer County, North Dakota

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Mercer County, North Dakota
Map
Location in the state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1872
Seat	Stanton
Largest city	Beulah
Area - Total - Land - Water	1,112 sq mi (2,880 km²) 1,045 sq mi (2,707 km²) 67 sq mi (174 km²), 6.02%
Population - (2000) - Density	8,644 8/sq mi (3/km²)
Website: www.mercercountynd.com

Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of 2000, the population is 8,644. Its county seat is Stanton.^[1]

The county was created by the 1874-1875 territorial legislature and was named for William Henry Mercer (1884–1901), an early rancher who settled north of Bismarck in 1869. Stanton became the county seat in 1884.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Places
- 3.1 Cities
4 References

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,112 square miles (2,881 km²), of which, 1,045 square miles (2,708 km²) of it is land and 67 square miles (173 km²) of it (6.02%) is water.

[edit] Adjacent counties

McLean County (north)
Oliver County (east)
Morton County (south)
Stark County (southwest)
Dunn County (west)

[edit] Major highways

North Dakota Highway 31
North Dakota Highway 48
North Dakota Highway 49
North Dakota Highway 200
North Dakota Highway 1806

[edit] National protected area

Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 8,644 people, 3,346 households, and 2,445 families residing in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 4,402 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.04% White, 0.05% Black or African American, 2.00% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.38% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. 0.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 68.8% were of German and 8.2% Norwegian ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 3,346 households out of which 37.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.20% were married couples living together, 5.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.90% were non-families. 24.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the county the population was spread out with 29.10% under the age of 18, 4.20% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 101.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,269, and the median income for a family was $51,983. Males had a median income of $47,969 versus $21,667 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,256. About 5.50% of families and 7.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.20% of those under age 18 and 20.90% of those age 65 or over.