Cass County
County
Cass County Courthouse in Fargo
Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 46°56′N 97°15′W / 46.93°N 97.25°W / 46.93; -97.25
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Founded	1873
Named for	George Washington Cass
Seat	Fargo
Largest city	Fargo
Area
• Total	1,768 sq mi (4,580 km2)
• Land	1,765 sq mi (4,570 km2)
• Water	3.0 sq mi (8 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	184,525
• Estimate  (2023)	196,362
• Density	100/sq mi (40/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.casscountynd.gov

Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 184,525.^[1] Cass County is the most populous county in North Dakota, accounting for nearly 24% of the state's population.^[2][3] The county seat is Fargo,^[4] the state's most populous city. The county is named for George Washington Cass, president of the Northern Pacific Railway from 1872 to 1875. It is the only Cass County in the United States that is not named after Lewis Cass.

Cass County is part of the Fargo, ND-Moorhead, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Cass County was defined by action of the Dakota Territory legislature on January 4, 1873, and its organization was effected on October 27 of that year. It was named for railroad executive George Washington Cass (1810–1888).^[5] Its boundaries were altered in 1875, and in 1961.^[6][7]

Geography

Cass County lies on the east side of North Dakota. Its east boundary line abuts the west boundary line of the state of Minnesota across the river. The Red River flows northward along the county's east boundary, on its way to Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay. The county's terrain consists of low rolling hills, devoted to agriculture except around developed areas.^[8] Its terrain slopes to the north and east, with its highest point on the southwestern corner at 1,194 ft (364 m) ASL.^[9] The county has a total area of 1,768 square miles (4,580 km²), of which 1,765 square miles (4,570 km²) is land and 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²) (0.2%) is water.^[10]

Major highways

Transit

• Amtrak Empire Builder (Fargo station)
• Jefferson Lines
• MATBUS

Adjacent counties

Lakes

Cass County has the following lakes:^[8]

• Brewer Lake
• Lake Bertha

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 184,525 people, 78,672 households, and 42,849 families in the county.^[16] The population density was 104.6 inhabitants per square mile (40.4/km²) There were 85,397 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 149,778 people, 63,899 households, and 35,215 families in the county. The population density was 84.9 inhabitants per square mile (32.8/km²). There were 67,938 housing units at an average density of 38.5 per square mile (14.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.7% white, 2.4% Asian, 2.3% black or African American, 1.2% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 45.4% were German, 35.8% were Norwegian, 9.2% were Irish, 6.3% were Swedish, and 1.7% were American.

Of the 63,899 households, 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 44.9% were non-families, and 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 31.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,600 and the median income for a family was $68,858. Males had a median income of $42,557 versus $31,916 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,184. About 5.8% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Government

Cass County is governed by a board of commissioners elected to four-year terms. Other elected officials include the sheriff and state's attorney. Appointed officials include administrator, extension agent, director of tax equalization, finance auditor, highway engineer, human services officer, information technology coordinator, recorder, veterans service officer, and weed control officer.

The current Sheriff is Jesse F. Jahner. Jahner has served as Sheriff of Cass County since January 2, 2019.

The voters of Cass County have historically tended to vote Republican. As recently as the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush carried Cass County with nearly 60 percent of the vote. However, in recent elections, the county has become more politically diverse and competitive, particularly in Fargo. Since 2008, no Republican presidential candidate has received over 50% of the vote in Cass County. In 2008, Democratic candidate Barack Obama won the majority of votes in Cass County, with a voting percentage very close to the percentage Obama received in the entire nation, while John McCain won the majority of votes in North Dakota. Mitt Romney's winning margin in 2012 over Obama in Cass County was 49.9% to 47%, while Donald Trump received 49.3% of votes in 2016, compared to 38.8% for Hillary Clinton and 11.9% for third-party candidates. In 2018, Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp achieved a 14-point lead in Eastern North Dakota, although the state as a whole soundly elected Republican Kevin Cramer.

In the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, Fargo falls into 9 districts: 10th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 27th, 41st and 44th-46th. In the House, it's represented by 7 Democrats and 11 Republicans, in Senate by 4 Democrats and 5 Republicans.