Major highways

• North Dakota Highway 21
• North Dakota Highway 31
• North Dakota Highway 49

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Source:^[6]

Lakes

Source:^[6]

• Pretty Rock Lake
• Sheep Creek Dam
• Lake Tschida

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, there were 2,301 people.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,394 people, 1,128 households, and 694 families in the county. The population density was 1.4 inhabitants per square mile (0.54/km²). There were 1,690 housing units at an average density of 1.02 units per square mile (0.39/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.2% white, 1.1% American Indian, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 66.6% were German, 14.0% were Norwegian, 12.5% were Russian, 5.9% were Irish, 5.5% were English, and 2.2% were American.

Of the 1,128 households, 19.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 3.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.5% were non-families, and 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age was 51.7 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,500 and the median income for a family was $53,542. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $27,303 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,840. About 7.3% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 18.7% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Cities

Census-designated places

• Heil
• Raleigh

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Defunct township

• Otter Creek Township^[15]