County population in 2012: 3,080 (all rural); it was 3,715 in 2000 County owner-occupied with a mortgage or a loan houses and condos in 2010: 406 County owner-occupied free and clear houses and condos in 2010: 766 County owner-occupied houses and condos in 2000: 1,307 Renter-occupied apartments: 302 (it was 321 in 2000)
% of renters here:
20%
State:
35%
Land area: 982 sq. mi. Water area: 27.1 sq. mi.
Population density: 3 people per square mile
(very low).
Mar. 2012 cost of living index in Nelson County: 79.9 (low, U.S. average is 100)
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Industries providing employment: Educational,health and social services (26.1%), Agriculture,forestry,fishing and hunting, and mining (22.8%).
Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2009: $640 (1.1%) Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2009: $515 (1.1%)
Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2009: 8.5%
(8.3% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 12.5% for Hispanic or Latino residents, 0.0% for American Indian residents, 25.0% for two or more races residents) Median age of residents in 2010: 51 years old
(Males: 50 years old, Females: 52 years old)
(Median age for: White residents: 51 years old, Black residents: 31 years old, American Indian residents: 30 years old, Asian residents: 31 years old, Hispanic or Latino residents: 18 years old, Other race residents: 31 years old)
Residents with income below the poverty level in 2009:
This county:
10.3%
Whole state:
11.9%
Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level in 2009:
This county:
3.7%
Whole state:
4.9%
Fair market rent in 2006 for a 1-bedroom apartment in Nelson County is $459 a month. Fair market rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is $548 a month. Fair market rent for a 3-bedroom apartment is $741 a month.
Notable locations in this county outside city limits:
Notable locations in Nelson County: Ora Town Hall (A), Nesheim Town Hall (B), Rugh Town Hall (C), Dayton Town Hall (D), Melvin Town Hall (E), Central Town Hall (F), Wamduska Town Hall (G), Leval Town Hall (H), Dodds Town Hall (I), Illinois Town Hall (J), Nash Town Hall (K), Enterprise Town Hall (L), Clara Town Hall (M). Display/hide their locations on the map
Churches in Nelson County include: Logan Church (A), Norway Church (B), Zion Church (C), Center Church (D), Sheyenne Church (E), Bergen Church (F), Lion Church (G), Sigdal Church (H), Our Savior Church (I). Display/hide their locations on the map
Cemeteries: Melrose Church Cemetery (1), Michigan Cemetery (2), New Luther Valley Cemetery (3), Hamlin Cemetery (4), Zion Cemetery (5), West Forest Cemetery (6), Valley Grove Cemetery (7). Display/hide their locations on the map
Lakes and reservoirs: Swan Lake (A), Horseshoe Lake (B), Lake Miller (C), McHugh Slough (D), Matson Slough (E), Lake Mary (F), Mannie Lake (G), Fiske Lake (H). Display/hide their locations on the map
Parks in Nelson County include: Stump Lake National Wildlife Refuge (1), Lambs Lake National Wildlife Refuge (2), Johnson Lake National Wildlife Refuge (3), Rose Lake National Wildlife Refuge (4). Display/hide their locations on the map
Current college students: 61 People 25 years of age or older with a high school degree or higher: 81.4% People 25 years of age or older with a bachelor's degree or higher: 17.5%
Number of foreign born residents: 64 (67% naturalized citizens)
Nelson County:
1.7%
Whole state:
1.9%
Year of entry for the foreign-born population
1995 to March 2000: 10
1990 to 1994: 9
1985 to 1989: 6
1980 to 1984: 4
1975 to 1979: 0
1970 to 1974: 2
1970 to 1974: 0
1965 to 1969: 33
Mean travel time to work (commute): 21.8 minutes
Percentage of county residents living and working in this county: 75.8%
Housing units in structures:
One, detached: 1,653
One, attached: 13
Two: 18
3 or 4: 105
5 to 9: 60
10 to 19: 32
20 or more: 3
Mobile homes: 126
Boats, RVs, vans, etc.: 4
Housing units in Nelson County with a mortgage: 229 (16 second mortgage, 4 home equity loan, 0 both second mortgage and home equity loan) Houses without a mortgage: 619
Here:
27.0% with mortgage
State:
58.1% with mortgage
Religion statistics:
Percentage of population affiliated with a religious congregations: 82.07%
Here
82.1%
USA
50.2%
Total adherents: 3,049 Total congregations: 22
Adherents
Breakdown of population affiliated with a religious congregations
Name
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Catholic Church
Association of Free Lutheran Congregations
Lutheran Church
Other
Adherents
2,585 (84.8%)
184 (6.0%)
143 (4.7%)
72 (2.4%)
65 (2.1%)
Congregations
13 (59.1%)
4 (18.2%)
1 (4.5%)
2 (9.1%)
2 (9.1%)
Source: Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center.
Average size of farms: 889 acres Average value of agricultural products sold per farm: $68,894 Average value of crops sold per acre for harvested cropland: $121.45 The value of livestock, poultry, and their products as a percentage of the total market value of agricultural products sold: 16.95% Average total farm production expenses per farm: $59,250 Harvested cropland as a percentage of land in farms: 53.00% Average market value of all machinery and equipment per farm: $80,724 The percentage of farms operated by a family or individual: 93.31% Average age of principal farm operators: 59 years Average number of cattle and calves per 100 acres of all land in farms: 2.11 Corn for grain: 10819 harvested acres All wheat for grain: 110122 harvested acres Soybeans for beans: 44856 harvested acres
Tornado activity:
Nelson County historical area-adjusted tornado activity is near North Dakota state average. It is 1.4 times below overall U.S. average.
Most recent natural disasters:
North Dakota Flooding, Incident Period: April 5, 2011, Emergency Declared (EM-3318): April 7, 2011, FEMA Id: FEMA-EM-3318, Natural disaster type: Flood
North Dakota Flooding, Incident Period: February 14, 2011, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared (DR-1981): May 10, 2011, FEMA Id: FEMA-DR-1981, Natural disaster type: Flood
North Dakota Flooding, Incident Period: February 26, 2010 to April 30, 2010, Emergency Declared (EM-3309): March 14, 2010, FEMA Id: FEMA-EM-3309, Natural disaster type: Flood
North Dakota Flooding, Incident Period: February 26, 2010 to July 15, 2010, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared (DR-1907): April 30, 2010, FEMA Id: FEMA-DR-1907, Natural disaster type: Flood
North Dakota Severe Storms and Flooding, Incident Period: March 13, 2009 to August 10, 2009, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared (DR-1829): March 24, 2009, FEMA Id: FEMA-DR-1829, Natural disaster type: Storm, Flood
North Dakota Hurricane Katrina Evacuation, Incident Period: August 29, 2005 to October 1, 2005, Emergency Declared (EM-3247): September 13, 2005, FEMA Id: FEMA-EM-3247, Natural disaster type: Hurricane
North Dakota Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation, Incident Period: June 1, 2005 to July 7, 2005, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared (DR-1597): July 22, 2005, FEMA Id: FEMA-DR-1597, Natural disaster type: Storm, Flood
North Dakota Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation, Incident Period: March 26, 2004 to June 14, 2004, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared (DR-1515): May 5, 2004, FEMA Id: FEMA-DR-1515, Natural disaster type: Storm, Flood
North Dakota Floods, Incident Period: March 1, 2001 to August 9, 2001, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared (DR-1376): May 28, 2001, FEMA Id: FEMA-DR-1376, Natural disaster type: Flood
North Dakota Severe Storms And Flooding, Incident Period: April 5, 2000 to August 12, 2000, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared (DR-1334): June 27, 2000, FEMA Id: FEMA-DR-1334, Natural disaster type: Storm, Flood
13 other natural disasters have been reported since 1953.
The number of natural disasters in Nelson County (23) is a lot greater than the US average (12). Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 20 Emergencies Declared: 3
Causes of natural disasters: Floods: 11, Floods: 10, Storms: 10, Snows: 3, Blizzard: 1, Heavy Rain: 1, Landslide: 1, Mudslide: 1, Tornado: 1, Hurricane: 1, Winter Storm: 1 (Note: Some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers (6%)
Agricultural workers including supervisors (5%)
Other management occupations except farmers and farm managers (5%)
Electrical equipment mechanics and other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations including supervisors (5%)
Sales representatives, services, wholesale and manufacturing (4%)
Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides (11%)
Health technologists and technicians (7%)
Preschool, kindergarten, elementary and middle school teachers (7%)
Secretaries and administrative assistants (5%)
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks (4%)
Registered nurses (4%)
Other management occupations except farmers and farm managers (4%)
Most common places of birth for the foreign-born residents (%):
Canada (53%)
Other Northern Europe (14%)
Philippines (13%)
United Kingdom (9%)
Germany (5%)
Hungary (3%)
Korea (3%)
Most common first ancestries reported in Nelson County (%):
Norwegian (53%)
German (22%)
Irish (3%)
Czech (3%)
English (3%)
French (except Basque) (2%)
United States or American (2%)
Means of transportation to work:
Drove a car alone: 1,144 (71%)
Carpooled: 172 (11%)
Bicycle: 2 (0%)
Walked: 183 (11%)
Other means: 2 (0%)
Worked at home: 117 (7%)
Breakdown of mean house values by ages of householders
People in group quarters in Nelson County, North Dakota in 2000:
138 people in nursing homes
14 people in religious group quarters
8 people in wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere
80 people in nursing facilities/skilled-nursing facilities
Average gross adjusted income of non-migrant taxpayers in this county in 2005 was $37,365.
4.69% of this county's 2006 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2005 ($30,094 average adjusted gross income)
Here:
4.69%
North Dakota average:
7.27%
10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries.
3.00% relocated from other counties in North Dakota ($20,672 average AGI)
1.68% relocated from other states ($9,438 average AGI)
Nelson County:
1.68%
North Dakota average:
3.54%
Percentage of residents relocating from other counties or countries
Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2005 and 2006:
7.80% of this county's 2005 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2006 ($27,982 average adjusted gross income)
Here:
7.80%
North Dakota average:
7.80%
10 or fewer of this county's residents moved to foreign countries.
5.74% relocated to other counties in North Dakota ($19,982 average AGI)
2.06% relocated to other states ($8,000 average AGI)
Nelson County:
2.06%
North Dakota average:
4.16%
Percentage of residents relocating to other counties or countries
Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2005 and 2006:
Births per 1000 population from 1990 to 1999: 8.0 Births per 1000 population from 2000 to 2006: 7.7
Births per 1000 population in Nelson County
Deaths per 1000 population from 1990 to 1999: 20.0 Deaths per 1000 population from 2000 to 2006: 19.3
Deaths per 1000 population in Nelson County
Infant deaths per 1000 live births from 1990 to 1999: 13.1 Infant deaths per 1000 live births from 2000 to 2006: 0.0
Infant deaths per 1000 live births in Nelson County
Persons enrolled in hospital insurance and/or supplemental medical insurance (Medicare) in July 1, 2003: 1,063 (1,008 aged, 55 disabled) Population without health insurance coverage in 2000: 9% Children under 18 without health insurance coverage in 2000: 10%
Short term general hospitals per 100,000 population in 2004: 29.03 Short term general hospital admissions per 100,000 population in 2004: 3773.580 Short term general hospital beds per 100,000 population in 2004: 551.520 Emergency room visits per 100,000 population in 2004: 3860.670
General practice office based MDs per 100,000 population in 2005: 817.760 Medical specialist MDs per 100,000 population in 2005: 1810.750 Dentists per 100,000 population in 1998: 29.21
Total births per 100,000 population, July 2005 - July 2006 : 53.82 Total deaths per 100,000 population, July 2005 - July 2006: 29.21
Household type by relationship:
Households: 3,046
In family households: 2,433 (744 male householders, 161 female householders)
768 spouses, 655 children (606 natural, 21 adopted, 28 stepchildren), 21 grandchildren, 15 brothers or sisters, 14 parents, 18 other relatives, 26 non-relatives
In nonfamily households: 613 (287 male householders (261 living alone)), 282 female householders (269 living alone)), 44 nonrelatives
In group quarters: 80 (all institutionalized)
Size of family households: 561 2-persons, 166 3-persons, 111 4-persons, 44 5-persons, 17 6-persons, 6 7-or-more-persons.
95.0% of residents of Nelson County speak English at home.
0.6% of residents speak Spanish at home (91% speak English very well, 9% speak English well).
3.8% of residents speak other Indo-European language at home (85% speak English very well, 11% speak English well, 4% speak English not well).
0.2% of residents speak Asian or Pacific Island language at home (100% speak English very well).
0.3% of residents speak other language at home (83% speak English very well, 17% speak English not well).
In fiscal year 2004:
Federal Government expenditure: $49,138,000 ($14264 per capita) Department of Defense expenditure: $509,000 Federal direct payments to individuals for retirement and disability: $13,189,000 Federal other direct payments to individuals: $8,212,000 Federal direct payments not to individuals: $17,894,000 Federal grants: $7,730,000 Federal procurement contracts: $399,000 ($0,000 Department of Defense) Federal salaries and wages: $1,715,000 ($0,000 Department of Defense) Federal Government direct loans: $691,000 Federal guaranteed/insured loans: $2,402,000 Federal Government insurance: $35,709,000
Population change from April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005:
Births: 128
Here:
37 per 1000 residents
State:
64 per 1000 residents
Deaths: 341
Here:
100 per 1000 residents
State:
48 per 1000 residents
Net international migration: +7
Here:
+2 per 1000 residents
State:
+6 per 1000 residents
Net internal migration: -80
Here:
-23 per 1000 residents
State:
-29 per 1000 residents
Population growth in Nelson County
Total withdrawal of fresh water for public supply: 0.44 millions of gallons per day (all from ground)
Median number of rooms in houses and condos:
Here:
6.3
State:
6.4
Median number of rooms in apartments:
Here:
4.4
State:
4.0
Year house built
2005 or later: 3
2000 to 2004: 60
1990 to 1999: 59
1980 to 1989: 133
1970 to 1979: 306
1960 to 1969: 269
1950 to 1959: 216
1940 to 1949: 91
1939 or earlier: 882
Rooms in houses/apartments in Nelson County, North Dakota
71% of Nelson County residents lived in the same house 5 years ago. Out of people who lived in different houses, 44% lived in this county. Out of people who lived in different counties, 63% lived in North Dakota.
Nelson County:
71.1%
State average:
57.5%
Place of birth for U.S.-born residents:
This state: 3034
Northeast: 51
Midwest: 362
South: 60
West: 133
Median price asked for vacant for-sale houses in 2000: $9,999
Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities: 3%
Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities: 4%
Year Householders Moved Into Unit:
Most commonly used house heating fuel in Nelson County
51.0 years
37.0 years
(58.2%)
(41.8%)
, Eddy County 
, Grand Forks County 
, Griggs County 
, Ramsey County 
, Steele County 
, Walsh County 
.
