LaMoure County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,093, and was estimated to be 4,135 in 2025. The county seat and the largest city is LaMoure.
History The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, with Grand Rapids as the county seat. However, the county organization was not completed at that time, nor was the county attached to another county for administrative and judicial purposes. It was named for Judson LaMoure, a member of the territorial/state legislature from 1872 to 1918.A Profile of Jud LaMoure (accessed February 21, 2019)
The county organization was affected on October 27, 1881. Its boundaries were altered in February 1881 and in March 1883. It has retained its present boundary since that time. The present county seat, LaMoure, was founded in 1882, and the county seat was transferred to that community soon after.
Geography The James River flows southeasterly through the central portion of LaMoure County, and a tributary of the South Branch Maple River flows southerly from the center of the county. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, mostly devoted to agriculture.
The terrain slopes to the south and east; its highest point is on its upper west boundary line at ASL.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.43%) is water. It is the 29th largest county in North Dakota by total area.
LaMoure County hosts a Navy transmitter, the Naval Radio Transmitter Facility LaMoure.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 281 North Dakota Highway 1 North Dakota Highway 13 North Dakota Highway 46 North Dakota Highway 56
Airports Kulm Municipal Airport - public use airport NE of Kulm.
Adjacent counties
Stutsman County - north Barnes County - northeast Ransom County - east Dickey County - south McIntosh County - southwest Logan County - west
National protected area Bone Hill National Wildlife Refuge
Lakes Source:
Bone Hill Creek Lake Cottonwood Lake Lake Lamoure Pearl Lake Wild Rice Slough
Demographics
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in LaMoure County was $125,027.
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 1,712 estimated households in LaMoure County with an average of 2.31 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $70,263. Approximately 9.4% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. LaMoure County has an estimated 63.6% employment rate, with 24.2% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 92.0% holding a high school diploma.
The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (95.6%), Spanish (1.0%), Indo-European (3.2%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.1%), and Other (0.1%).
The median age in the county was 46.7 years.
LaMoure County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop. 1980 Pop. 1990 Pop. 2000 Pop. 2010 White alone (NH) 6,440(99.49%) 5,368(99.72%) 4,648(98.87%) 4,053(97.92%) 3,897(95.21%) Black or African American alone (NH) 2(0.03%) 0(0.00%) 0(0.00%) 5(0.12%) 6(0.15%) Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 14(0.22%) 5(0.09%) 8(0.17%) 16(0.39%) 20(0.49%) Asian alone (NH) 4(0.06%) 2(0.04%) 6(0.13%) 6(0.14%) 7(0.17%) Pacific Islander alone (NH) — — 0(0.00%) 0(0.00%) 4(0.10%) Other race alone (NH) 7(0.11%) 0(0.00%) 0(0.00%) 0(0.00%) 10(0.24%) Mixed race or multiracial (NH) — — 13(0.28%) 25(0.60%) 61(1.49%) Hispanic or Latino (any race) 6(0.09%) 8(0.15%) 26(0.55%) 34(0.82%) 88(2.15%) Total 6,473(100.00%) 5,383(100.00%) 4,701(100.00%) 4,139(100.00%) 4,093(100.00%)
2024 estimate As of the 2024 estimate, there were 4,051 people and 1,712 households residing in the county. There were 2,056 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.3% White (94.7% NH White), 0.6% African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.7% of the population.
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 4,093, 1,720 households, and 1,105 families residing in the county. Of the residents, 22.6% were under the age of 18 and 25.8% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 47.4 years. For every 100 females there were 103.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 103.2 males. The population density was . There were 2,064 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.8% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, 0.8% from some other race, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.2% of the population. There were 1,720 households in the county, of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 18.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 2,064 housing units, of which 16.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 81.7% were owner-occupied and 18.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.7%.
2010 census As of the 2010 census, there were 4,139 people, 1,825 households, and 1,182 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 2,238 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.50% White, 0.14% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from some other races and 0.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.82% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 63.0% were German, 27.6% were Norwegian, 6.2% were Swedish, 6.1% were Russian, 6.0% were English, and 2.8% were American.
There were 1,825 households, 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were married couples living together, 4.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.2% were non-families, and 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age was 49.2 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $46,098 and the median income for a family was $60,932. Males had a median income of $41,250 versus $25,172 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,056. About 6.8% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.
Population by decade
Communities Cities
Berlin Dickey Edgeley Jud Kulm LaMoure (county seat) Marion Verona
Unincorporated communities Source:
Alfred Diesem Medberry Nortonville
Townships
Adrian Badger Black Loam Bluebird Dean Gladstone Glen Glenmore Golden Glen Grand Rapids Grandview Greenville Henrietta Kennison Mikkelson Nora Norden Ovid Pearl Lake Pomona View Prairie Raney Ray Roscoe Russell Ryan Saratoga Sheridan Swede Wano Willowbank
Ghost town Alfred
U.S. Navy ships The United States Navy commissioned two tank landing ships named for the county. The first, USS La Moure County (LST-883), was commissioned January 23, 1945, and served until December 7, 1959. The second, USS La Moure County (LST-1194), was commissioned December 1, 1971 and served until November 17, 2000.
Politics LaMoure County voters are traditionally Republican. In only one national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).
Education School districts include: - Text list Fort Ransom Public School District 6 Gackle-Streeter Public School District 56 Litchville-Marion Public School District 46 Edgeley Public School District 3 Kulm Public School District 7 LaMoure Public School District 8 Montpelier Public School District 14 Oakes Public School District 41
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in LaMoure County, North Dakota
References
External links LaMoure County – official website LaMoure County Chamber of Commerce LaMoure County bicentennial celebration : July 2, 3, 4, 5, 1976, Memorial Park, Grand Rapids, N.D. from the *Digital Horizons website In the valley of the Jim (1937) from the Digital Horizons website LaMoure County map, North Dakota DOT